A Month in London
by RoniAllan
Summary: In this story, I imagine what would have happened if Elizabeth had helped Mr. Darcy when he fell off his horse and broke his leg the morning after the Netherfield ball. As Caroline Bingley was closing up the house, Darcy was taken to Longbourn to recuperate. As a reward for their help, he promised to host the whole Bennet family for a month in London during the season. HEA
1. Chapter 1

A MONTH IN LONDON

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the first chapter of the fifth story that I have published on this website. This story begins with a serious medical emergency. My degrees are not in any medical field, so I had to use my imagination as to what would have been needed to be done in this situation and in what might have actually been undertaken some 200 years ago. I appreciate your comments, but please forgive my lack of medical expertise. _Dr. Roni_

Even though she had been up very late at the ball that Mr. Bingley had held at Netherfield, Elizabeth Bennet woke as early as usual, just as the sun was rising and lit up her bedroom with its first rays. She could see from the brightness that it promised to be a fine morning, so she decided to go on an early walk to think about the ball and the very strange behaviour of Mr. Darcy when he asked her to dance, something that he had not done with any other woman not of his party. She could not understand why she had been singled out.

She dressed and went down the stairs to the kitchen, where she said good morning to the cook and took a bun that was still warm from the oven. She could not restrain herself but began to nibble on it even before she went outside. As it was late November, the air was cool, but not too cold, especially as her usual brisk walk kept her warm. Fortunately, the weather had been quite dry, so there was no mud to worry about. Of course, she would have gone for her walk even if there had been, to the detriment of her walking boots.

Her thoughts about the ball must have unconsciously directed her feet, as she found herself walking in the little-used lane that marked the boundary between her father's Longbourn estate and Netherfield. Her thoughts kept going back to the very unexpected request for a dance from Mr. Darcy—he who had consistently held himself aloof and obviously better than every person in Meryton. To her recollection, he had never even spoken to any resident of Meryton beyond very brief monosyllables, and then only in response to direct questions. During their dance, she almost had to force him to say anything at all. She could not fathom why he had asked her when he so obviously did not understand that dancing was used as an excuse for polite conversation between ladies and gentlemen, so they have an opportunity to get to know each other. She found it difficult to believe that he did not understand this, so either he was simply unused to making conversation with people he did not know well, or that he considered himself too far above her to bother to talk to her. If this was the case, why on earth did he ask her to dance in the first place?

Elizabeth had several mysteries in her mind: why did he bother to show up at the ball at all, why did he single out her, of all people, to dance with him, and why would he not talk to her. She supposed he showed up only because Mr. Bingley was his friend and it was obvious that Mr. Bingley greatly enjoyed being out in company, especially when the company included attractive young ladies, like her sister Jane. As for why he had chosen her, she had no idea, even though her best friend Charlotte Lucas had suggested that he kept looking at her as he admired her and not because he was looking for reasons to criticize her. She was sure Charlotte was wrong as he had made no attempt to be friendly with her or even to try to get to know her at all. Even though she had spent several days in his company when she nursed Jane at Netherfield, she just could not understand him at all.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a horse galloping in the lane toward her. This surprised her as she knew this lane was rarely used. She could not tell who the rider was and she did not recognize the horse. She stopped and stepped to the side of the lane to keep out of their way. Just then, she noticed that a large tree branch had fallen across the lane not far from her. As it was not too large, she knew the horse would be able to jump it with no difficulty. She stood there admiring the horse and, especially, its rider. He appeared to be tall and in firm command of the horse. He saw the branch and appeared to be ready for the jump. Just before the horse jumped, a fox ran from under the branch, startling the horse, making it abort its jump and turn aside from the unexpected movement almost under its feet. The rider was not ready for this sudden turn and he flew from the saddle, well over the branch, landing with a heart-stopping thud almost at Elizabeth's feet. The horse ran into the bush along the road and disappeared.

The rider lay there on his side with one leg under him at an unnatural angle. Elizabeth could now see his features, and saw, to her horror, that it was Mr. Darcy himself. No matter how disgusted she felt about him, she only saw a man moaning in pain, so she went to him and knelt beside him. "Mr. Darcy, can you hear me? It is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I can see that your leg must be broken. You are lying on it, so I have to get it out from under you. I have to roll you onto your back. This is going to hurt."

Even though everything about her upbringing as a lady taught her that she should never touch a man who was not related to her, she knew that she had to get him off the leg that was under him. As she was considering what she had to do, her memory of a very similar event that took place just last year flashed into her mind. She had been out visiting some of Longbourn's tenants when a commotion at the next farm caught her attention. She ran over to find that the farmer, John Clark, had broken his leg above the knee. Someone had the presence of mind to send for the surgeon, Mr. Cunningham, from Meryton. He arrived just after Elizabeth and immediately took control of the situation.

Being her naturally curious self, Elizabeth stood and watched everything that Mr. Cunningham said and did. He saw her rapt attention, so he talked about every step that he carried out, including the reasons why he did each. He stressed the importance of not doing anything that might move the broken bones very much as the jagged ends could easily catch a blood vessel and rupture it with serious, sometimes even fatal, results. Seeing that Mr. Darcy was in great pain, she feared that he might thrash around and move the broken bones. She remembered that Mr. Cunningham had said that too much movement by the patient could lead to those serious results. She knew she had to get his weight off that leg. This meant that she had to roll him onto his back while minimizing the movement of his leg that was obviously broken.

"Mr. Darcy, I have to do this, so do not fight me. Please try to relax. Whatever you do, do not move your leg." She looked carefully at how he was lying. She could see that his good leg was crossed over the broken one, and that, if she rolled him, his good leg would jar the broken one. She took hold of his foot and carefully lifted it off his broken leg and out of the way. Then she went behind him and put her hands on his shoulder. She looked at his face and saw that he did not appear to be fully conscious. With difficulty because of his weight, she carefully rolled him onto his back, watching for any movement of his broken leg. As she saw only the slightest change in its position, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She was looking down at him when he opened his eyes. "Have I died and gone to heaven? You are beautiful. Are you an angel?"

"Mr. Darcy, please. I assure you that you are still alive and I am not an angel, just Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You must not be fully awake as you first called me only 'tolerable' to look at even before we were introduced, certainly not 'beautiful.' You were thrown from your horse and you have a broken leg. Whatever you do, do not move."

Darcy seemed to wake up fully as he looked at her with awareness in his eyes, even while he grimaced in pain. "When did I call you only tolerable? You are one of the most handsome women of my acquaintance. If I said that, I was both very wrong and very rude to you. I can only beg for your forgiveness. My leg hurts a lot. I assume that is the one that is broken?"

Darcy raised his head and looked at his leg. "I can see that it is not straight above my knee. It must be broken. Why did you not just go for help?"

"I could not leave you here alone. Please listen to me. Just last year, one of our tenants had a broken leg in just about the same place as yours. I was there when the surgeon came and he talked about everything he did while he was doing it. He stressed how important it was that the broken leg must not be moved, or the jagged ends of the bone could easily rupture a blood vessel with very serious results. He said that this could easily be fatal, so do not move, no matter how much it hurts. He said that it was very important that the bone be set as soon as possible to make sure that it is not jostled at all. He said that a person in pain could not help but move to try to ease the pain.

"I saw him set that leg. He held on to the leg just above the knee and had two men hang on to Clark's shoulders so he could pull the bone ends apart, then he moved them so they fit together. He said someone had to hold the man still or pulling the leg would just pull the whole person and just cause more damage. So, we need to set your leg right away, but I cannot do it without some help. I do not know what to do."

"Can you not do it by yourself? What if I brace myself?"

"That would not work as you have nothing to hang on to. In any case, the pain was so bad that Clark passed out."

"What if you braced your foot against me when you pulled my leg?"

"Mr. Darcy! That would be most unseemly. I had enough trouble just holding your shoulder to roll you over."

"Miss Elizabeth, do you trust that surgeon?"

"Yes, he has many years of experience with many different kinds of farm accidents."

"So, you believe him when he said that the bone should be set as soon as possible, or the results could easily be fatal?"

"Yes. But what can I do to brace you?"

"Put your foot up against me between my legs so you can keep me from moving while you pull on my leg."

"Mr. Darcy! I cannot even look at you there, so how could I put my foot there?"

"Please, Miss Elizabeth, I trust you. I do not want to die. Please do it and we will never tell anyone what you had to do."

Elizabeth blushed bright red, but moved very slowly and carefully so her legs were under his broken one. She very cautiously lifted it into her lap so she could get a grip above his knee. "Please do not look at me."

"Wait! You cannot keep your boot on. I understand that you may not know the details of a man's person, but if you keep your boot on, you will push on parts of me that are very sensitive. Please take it off."

She did not argue but carefully leaned down, loosened the laces, and removed her boot.

"Now, very carefully put your foot as low on me as you can, then move your foot up gently until you feel you can brace yourself." She did this and could feel her toes move something up as she moved her foot. She closed her eyes so she would not think of what her toes were touching.

"Now I think I can do it. I can see how I have to move your knee to get the ends of the bone in the right place. Do not fight me and try not to tense your leg muscles. This will hurt a lot. I remember that Clark passed out when Mr. Cunningham pulled. I have to pull until the ends of the bone are separate, and then move your knee until the ends are lined up. Then I have to ease the pressure so the ends come together. If I do it right, the bone will feel smooth. Mr. Darcy, please forgive me, but I have never touched a man's leg before. Just do not look at me. Are you ready?"

Seeing him nod, she braced her leg against him, then held his leg just above the knee and pulled slowly but firmly. She almost stopped when he let out a horrible moan, but she forced herself to keep pulling. This proved to be much more difficult than she had thought, so she had to pull with all her strength. As soon as she thought the ends were apart, she moved her hands to line up the broken ends, and then slowly eased her pressure. There was no further sound from Mr. Darcy, so she assumed he had passed out from the pain. To make sure she had the bone lined up, she gently moved her hands up along his leg. While she tried to keep her thoughts impersonal, she could not help but admire the muscles that she was feeling. As she felt no lumps, she hoped she had done it right and that the broken ends of the bone were now properly in place. She was glad that Mr. Darcy still seemed to be out as she doubted she could have run her hands up his leg if he had been awake. She hoped that she would not have any impure thoughts about touching his leg, but, in the back of her mind, she could not forget what his leg felt like.

She thought of what Mr. Cunningham had done next, and then remembered he had placed smooth pieces of wood on the leg and tied them tight to keep the break immobile. She looked around and saw that the only possible pieces of wood that she could use were branches off the tree that had fallen. She went over to it and broke off a number of pieces that were the straightest. She brought these back to Mr. Darcy and shortened them to about the right length. She was not sure what she could use to tie them onto his leg, and then decided to sacrifice her petticoat. She tore strips off the hem, with some difficulty. She had trouble keeping the wood in place along the broken bone, but finally managed to tie them fairly tightly in place.


	2. Chapter 2

She thought back to Mr. Cunningham's instructions while he was working on Clark, and then remembered that he had stressed the importance of keeping him warm so he would not get chilled from the shock of all that had occurred. He had asked for blankets to cover Clark. Elizabeth had nothing to cover Mr. Darcy to keep him warm, but she remembered how important that seemed to be. She knew that she did not dare to allow Mr. Darcy to suffer from cold or she would be blamed for everything that she had done so far.

She could only think of one way to keep him warm—she would have to use her own body heat. Blushing furiously, even though there was no one to see her, she gently lay on him and wrapped her arms around him. Once again, she tried to keep her thoughts dispassionate, but she could not help herself but to feel the unusual warmth that ran through her body. She lay her head beside his and surrendered to the feelings that were coursing through her body. In spite of the very strong disgust that she had felt about his manners ever since she had first met him, she now realized why young ladies were firmly taught not to have any physical contact with any men—passions that were too easily aroused could quickly overwhelm everything they had been taught about proper behaviour. Without realizing what she was doing, she held him tighter and sighed.

"Now I know I have died and gone to heaven. Only a real angel could feel like this." Darcy murmured. He seemed to wake and said, "Miss Elizabeth, whatever are you doing?"

"Please do not take my actions wrong, Mr. Darcy. Mr. Cunningham stressed how important it was to keep Clark warm or he might catch a chill from the shock of his broken leg. He wrapped Clark in several blankets, even though it was summer. I could think of no other way to keep you warm but to share my body heat with you. You will never tell anyone what I have done, will you, especially my father? He would come after you with his gun, and you cannot run away from him as you are. Does it still hurt a lot?"

"I will not tell anyone what you have done. Yes, my leg still hurts, but not nearly as much as it was. Do you think you managed to set the bone?"

"I think so; I could not feel any unusual bumps in your leg." She blushed when she said that as it implied that she had felt his leg. "I used sticks from the tree to try to keep your leg immobile."

"Miss Elizabeth, I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for me. You really are an angel, and a beautiful one at that."

"How can you say that when you called me only 'tolerable, and not handsome enough to tempt you to dance' at that first Assembly?"

"Did I really say that? It was so wrong of me, both to say it and to disparage your beauty. I can only beg your forgiveness and assure you that you are one of the most handsome women I have ever met. How could I have been so wrong? I can only say that I was in a very bad mood that night and went there only because Bingley had insisted that he wanted to meet his new neighbours. You have my most humble apologies. Can you ever forgive me?"

His words went a long way to ease her feelings toward him. "There is something else I have to ask you about. Mr. Wickham said some very nasty things about you, but now I am not sure if they were accurate."

"That person is a very bad character. Please let me explain." Darcy went on to outline his history with Wickham. He even told her about Wickham's near elopement with his sister when she was only 15. She believed him immediately and was ashamed of how wrong she had been about the both of them.

Darcy's mind now turned to more immediate concerns. "Now, we have to find a way to get help as I cannot walk. Where is that horse I was riding? I wish it had been one of mine rather than Bingley's; this would not have happened."

"I have not seen it since the accident. If it was Bingley's horse, would it have gone back to Netherfield?"

"It might have. I hope so. If those grooms see it return without me, they should send out a search party. Our only choices are for us to wait here together, or for you to go for help. I will need a wagon to get back.

"Oh no! I just remembered that Bingley was leaving early this morning for town as he had some business there. I have a feeling that his sisters will follow him, either today or tomorrow. They decided that they hate it here and will likely talk him into staying in town. That means that the Netherfield staff will be distracted with getting ready to leave. They may not be able to come to look for me. Perhaps you should go to Longbourn to get help."

"You might be right, but I do not want to leave you alone. You have to keep warm. May I suggest that we wait here for a while? If no one comes along, I will run home for help." By now Darcy had put his arms around her and she really did not want to move. She now knew what it must feel like to be with someone you loved. She had to admit that it felt very good, indeed.

"Miss Elizabeth, I do not want to embarrass you, but I cannot hold back. You feel so good in my arms; I never want to let you go."

"Mr. Darcy, please! I am doing this only to help you. While I have tried to keep my thoughts impersonal, I admit that I understand what you are saying. I have never been so close to any man besides my father. I find this very comforting. But we must not think of these things. What should we talk about?"

"I have a question that has been bothering me, about your cousin, Collins. Why is he here?"

"He at first said that he wanted to extend an olive branch to our family to heal the rift that had existed between his father and mine. Then he admitted that his esteemed patroness, your aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh, told him to find a wife from my family so we would not be completely separated from our estate when my father passes."

"I thought so. My aunt is very meddlesome. So has he decided on who will be his lucky bride?"

"At first, he wanted Jane as she is the best looking of all of us. My mother slyly told him that she already has an admirer, but she suggested that I was available. I have to admit that I am her least favourite daughter, so she plans to make me the sacrifice. If he does ask me, I will refuse as I could never settle on such a ridiculous man. Jane and I have long decided that we would marry only for the deepest love. I could never respect or even like him, much less love him." Suddenly she realized how personal her words were. "Mr. Darcy, please forgive me for talking about this. I have never spoken to anyone about such personal thoughts. I should not be speaking about our family's problems to you. I suppose it is only because here we are, holding each other as if we were lovers, rather than just mere acquaintances. I should let you go now."

"No! Please stay where you are. You do not want me to catch cold, do you?" She realized he was teasing her.

"Mr. Darcy! Did you just tease me? From what I have seen of you, you never tease. You are always so aloof and frightening. I thought you incapable of teasing."

"Is that how I seem? I suppose you are seeing how I am when I am in company that I do not know well. If I may now be personal—that is likely just my defensive manner. I have had so many desperate mothers trying to get my attention for their daughters that I do not dare show the slightest interest in any of them or they would be ordering wedding clothes. If you saw me at Pemberley, you would see that I am very different; I believe that I am actually quite friendly there as I know everyone."

They both raised their heads when they heard someone calling. "Listen; what was that? Elizabeth, you had better get up before someone sees us. Can you call back to him?" They both noticed his slip at calling her Elizabeth, but she did not upbraid him.

She got up and looked around to where they had heard the call. "Halloo! She called as loudly as she could. "Over here!"


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth saw a horse and rider approach and that it was Hank, a young stable lad from Longbourn. "Hank! Thank goodness you are here. Mr. Darcy was thrown from his horse and has a broken leg. He needs help."

"Miss Lizzy, your father was worried when you did not come back for breakfast and he sent me out to look for you. I have been looking all over for you."

"Hank, I need you to go back to Longbourn and tell my father about Mr. Darcy. We will need a wagon to bring him back, with lots of blankets and something to carry him. Tell them to bring either a large board or even a door. Then ride to town and find Mr. Cunningham. Tell him to come here as soon as possible. On your way back, stop at Netherfield and tell them what happened to Mr. Darcy. They should be looking for him if his horse rode back without him. Have you got all that? Wait! Can I have your jacket to keep Mr. Darcy warm?"

"Yes, Miss Lizzy." Hank took off his jacket and rode off back to Longbourn.

Elizabeth draped the jacket over Mr. Darcy. "I much preferred the other way you kept me warm."

"Now, Mr. Darcy, we should not ever think about that again. Remember that you promised not to tell anyone what I had to do."

"I may not talk about it, but I will always remember. Miss Elizabeth, you are the most remarkable woman I have ever met, and the most memorable. I owe you my life, so you can ask me for anything that is in my power to give you."

"Mr. Darcy! You do not owe me anything. I did this only because you needed help, not to try to gain anything."

"But from what you said, you did not even like me! Yet you still did so much for me."

"Since you explained the reason for your apparent aloofness and Mr. Wickham's falsehoods, I know that I was completely wrong about you. I will regret that forever as I thought that I was quite good at analyzing characters, but I was certainly wrong about both of you. You have all the goodness, but Mr. Wickham has only the appearance of it."

"Miss Elizabeth, just looking at you makes me want to hold you again. I have to remember that I am a gentleman and you are a gentleman's daughter, so I will have only my wonderful memories of holding you against me. I will never forget that."

It was not too long after this that they heard a wagon approach, with Jenkins, the Longbourn head groom driving, and her father sitting beside him. "Lizzy, there you are! Hank told us where to find you. Mr. Darcy, how are you doing? Are you are in much pain?"

"Mr. Bennet! I am very glad to see you. I am in much less pain since Miss Elizabeth found me and helped me. I am afraid that my leg is broken, but she set it. If she were a man, she would have made an excellent surgeon. I do not know how I can ever repay her for everything that she has done for me."

While he was talking, Elizabeth took several blankets and covered Mr. Darcy with them. "Well, Lizzy, I know you can do a lot, but I had no idea you knew how to set a broken bone. Where did you learn how to do that? Not just from my books, I assume?"

"Remember last year when Mr. Clark broke his leg and Mr. Cunningham set it? I was there watching him and he talked about what he was doing and the reasons for everything. My curiosity paid off as I remembered what he had done. For example, he stressed how important it was to keep Mr. Clark warm as he was liable to catch a chill from all the shock to his system. That is why I asked you to bring blankets for Mr. Darcy."

While Mr. Bennet wondered how she had kept Darcy warm before he arrived, he did not ask. He also wondered just what she had to do to set his leg. He decided that again it would be better if he did not ask. He knew that she would tell him eventually as she had never kept any secrets from him, at least that he knew of.

They heard a buggy coming, and saw that it was the surgeon, Mr. Cunningham. "Well Bennet, what do we have here? Hank said that Mr. Darcy had broken a leg and that Miss Elizabeth had found him." He went to Darcy and removed the blankets and Hank's coat. "Miss Elizabeth, avert you eyes as I have to examine his leg. Did you use the branches to protect the break? What else did you do?" He carefully untied the branches, examining the strips that had been used to tie them in place. "Are these from your petticoat? I believe that Mr. Darcy owes you a new one."

"I will give her a hundred of them if she asks. Mr. Cunningham, did she do as good a job as I believe she did?" Mr. Darcy was trying not to grimace as Cunningham felt his leg very carefully.

"Miss Elizabeth, are you sure it was broken? I cannot feel where it is broken; it feels just as it should."

She was blushing furiously at the attention. "Yes, the two ends of the bone were separate, and made a lump on his leg, so I did what you did when you set Mr. Clark's leg last year. I pulled the leg and got the two ends together, just as you did. Did I do it right?"

Cunningham knew it was not as easy as she implied, and he wondered how she had held him still as she pulled his leg. He did not want to ask in front of her father, so he decided that he would ask her later. "I could not have done it better myself. Tell me why you just did not wait for me to come?"

"I remembered that you said how dangerous it was to leave the jagged ends of the bone separate as they could easily catch a blood vessel and rupture it if the patient moved. You said that broken bones must be set as soon as possible to minimize this possibility. You said that the pain could easily make the patient thrash around. You also said that some kind of splint should be tied on to prevent any possible movement of the break once it was set."

"Darcy, you are very lucky that Miss Elizabeth found you when she did. She is absolutely right about what she did. I have seen cases where the bones were not set right away and the broken ends ruptured a blood vessel because the patient could not stay still from the pain. More often than not, they bled so much they either lost their limb or they bled to death. She must be a very quick learner as she knew to tie splints on the break and to keep you warm. She only saw me set one broken bone. Legs are the worst and the bone above the knee is so big and the splinters are so sharp.

"Miss Elizabeth, you have my sincerest congratulations for a job well done. Mr. Darcy, you may very well owe her your life. You owe her more than just a petticoat."

Just then, Hank rode up with Brian, a young groom from Netherfield. "Miss Lizzy, did I do everything you said? I brought Brian back from Netherfield in case you need more help."

Mr. Cunningham continued to take charge of the situation. "First of all, we have to get Mr. Darcy up into the wagon. We need a board or something to put him on. Then we have to decide where to take him."

Mr. Bennet replied, "I brought a door to put him on so we can get him up on the wagon."

"A great idea! Who suggested that? Miss Elizabeth again?"

"Yes, Hank told us that is what she wanted. Hank, Brian, help me get it." They went to the wagon, lifted the door, and laid it next to Darcy.

Mr. Cunningham retied the splints, just as Elizabeth had placed them. "I will hold his leg. Miss Elizabeth, would you mind holding his head? You young fellows lift his shoulders. Jenkins, if you would take his good leg. Mr. Bennet, when we lift him, please place a blanket under him and hold it there. Is everyone ready? Now, lift." They carefully lifted Mr. Darcy and placed him on the door. "Good. Mr. Darcy, are you all right?" He had seen Darcy grimace.

"It hurt a bit, but not too bad. Now, Mr. Bennet, were you thinking of taking me to Netherfield? Mr. Cunningham, how long will I have to remain immobile? I would like to go to my home in London as soon as possible; I do not want to be an inconvenience to anyone."

Mr. Bennet replied first, "Yes, I assume that since you are staying at Netherfield, that is where you would like to go."

Brian, the Netherfield groom spoke up. "Excuse me, but everyone at Netherfield is in a frenzy as Miss Bingley said she is closing up the house and going back to London. Apparently she wants to leave today. I am not sure if it is safe to take Mr. Darcy there."

Darcy was very surprised, "She did not say anything about that! Bingley left for town early this morning, but he had planned to come back as soon as he took care of his business there. I wonder what Miss Bingley is up to. I know she is not happy here."

Elizabeth looked at her father, "Papa, could we accommodate Mr. Darcy at Longbourn? Mr. Collins is in the guest room, but we could convert the small sitting room into a bedroom for him as we do not use it much. The sofa should be long enough for him. As that room is on the ground floor, we will not have to worry about getting him up any stairs. Mr. Cunningham, how long before he can go to London?"

"He must not move at all for at least three weeks. After that, he can move some with assistance and a cane or a crutch as long as he does not put any weight on the leg. It will need another couple of weeks before I would risk a long carriage ride, and then only with a lot of padding and support for the leg so it is not jarred at all. He will need at least two months before he can do much, and even then he must use a cane for support until the break is fully healed."

With Netherfield closing and Lizzy's obvious desire to continue to help him, Mr. Bennet knew he had no choice. "Mr. Darcy, may I offer that you come to Longbourn for as long as you need? Is your valet still at Netherfield? Will he be able to provide the assistance you need until you can move around?"

"Yes, he can. John has been with me for a number of years. He will be able to nurse me. How can we tell him to pack my things and come to Longbourn?"

Brian spoke up, "I have to go back to Netherfield, so I will tell him to move everything of yours to Longbourn. What about your carriage and horses?"

Mr. Bennet spoke up. "Mr. Darcy, I am sorry that we do not have room in my stables for your horses, but the livery stable in Meryton is quite good. They also have decent rooms for your coachmen. Our space for servants is limited, but your valet will be no problem. All right, Brian, be sure to tell the coachmen to bring everything to Longbourn, and then take the carriage to the livery stable."

Mr. Cunningham took over again, "All right, everyone, grab a corner of the door so we can lift him into the wagon. Miss Elizabeth, would you mind getting into the wagon to make sure we set him down carefully? Watch that his leg does not move." They carried this makeshift litter onto the tailgate of the wagon and slid it in, with Elizabeth making sure Mr. Darcy was not jarred too much. "Miss Elizabeth, would you like to ride with him? I will also get in to protect his leg when we hit bumps. Mr. Bennet, would you mind driving my buggy back to Longbourn?

Jenkins drove the wagon and Hank rode alongside. Brian rode back to Netherfield.


	4. Chapter 4

When Brian arrived at Netherfield, he rode to the stable, unsaddled the horse, and let it loose in the pasture. He went to the kitchen door and asked one of the kitchen maids to have Darcy's valet, John, summoned. When John came, Brian said, "John, listen carefully. Mr. Darcy was thrown from this horse this morning and Miss Elizabeth Bennet found him. Hank, a Longbourn groom found them next and he went for help. Hank came here and told me, so I went with him to help them. Miss Elizabeth had already set the bone before the surgeon arrived, and he said that she did a good job. They were going to bring him here, but I told them that Miss Bingley was closing up the house. They decided they would take him to Longbourn until he can go back to his house in London. Mr. Darcy told me to tell you to pack up everything and take it all to Longbourn so you can look after him. You are to take his carriage there, and then they will have to take the horses to the Meryton livery stable as the Longbourn stable does not have enough room for them. The coachmen will stay there until he can go to London.

"I will go tell the coachmen what to do, and then I will ride to the livery stable to warn them. I will leave it up to you to tell them here what has happened." Brian then left to pass on the necessary instructions. John was very worried about his master as he had been with him for a number of years. He went to find the housekeeper and told her what had happened. When he asked if Miss Bingley had missed Mr. Darcy, she told him that the staff was in such an uproar with the sudden instructions to close up the house that she was not sure. She decided she did not want to upset Miss Bingley any more than she was, so she did not go looking for her to pass on this information.

It did not take John too long to pack up Mr. Darcy's and his own belongings. He managed to find a footman to help him take everything down to Darcy's carriage, and then he left for Longbourn. He had not sought out Miss Bingley before he left as he made a point of not having anything to do with her unless he absolutely had to.

When the wagon carrying Darcy had arrived at Longbourn, Mr. Bennet directed several of his staff to help lift the door with Darcy and carry it into the house. They had to maneuver it very carefully around corners until they reached the small sitting room. Of course, their appearance caused havoc among the Bennet ladies as they had had no warning that Darcy would be brought to Longbourn. Mr. Bennet told his wife why they brought Darcy here, and he had Mrs. Hill prepare the small sitting room for him.

Mrs. Bennet was anxious to think that they would be responsible for Darcy for some weeks, but she was also secretly pleased to be able to get in his good graces for looking after him for so long. After all, ten thousand per year was something! Perhaps she could have Lydia nurse him and then he might develop warm feelings towards his nurse. At least he might be able to introduce her daughters to other rich men.

Under the careful direction of Mr. Cunningham, Darcy was lifted from the door onto the sofa that would be his home for some weeks. Again, Cunningham looked after the leg and Elizabeth cradled his head. Cunningham asked for some better pieces of wood to replace the branch splints. Cunningham was still there when Darcy's valet arrived, and he gave very detailed instructions as to the care of the patient. Cunningham left some pain killers with John and told him how to administer them. Satisfied that Darcy would receive excellent care from both John and Elizabeth, he left after promising to return the next day to check on his progress.

As Cunningham went out, he asked Elizabeth to see him out. When they were alone, he asked her to describe, in detail, just how she had set his leg as he knew they had not been told the whole story. Blushing furiously, she told him how she had carefully felt Darcy's leg to determine how she had to move it, then how she placed her foot against him so she could stretch his leg to get the ends of the bone in place. She admitted how difficult it had been to pull on his leg to be able to do this, and said that Darcy had passed out from the pain. She said that, while he was unconscious, she had again felt his leg to see if it seemed to be in place properly.

She said, "Mr. Cunningham, you know that I have never felt a man's leg before. I could not have done it if he had been awake. You will not tell my father, will you? He would be most upset if he knew just what I had to do."

"Do not worry, Miss Elizabeth. Your secret is safe with me. I can only say again that you very likely saved his life with your quick thinking. What I will do is to make sure that Darcy knows how much he owes you. As he is a gentleman, he will not forget his debt to you." With that, he left shaking his head at how bravely she had acted.

When John had Darcy well settled, Elizabeth returned to the room and asked Darcy what she could do for him. He said that he wanted to let his sister know what had happened, so he asked for writing materials. He also asked her if he might be supplied with something to read while he was so incapacitated. She assured him that she would get him any books he wanted from their library and she offered to read to him whenever he wanted. She wondered if she would be permitted to be in the room alone with him, but, as he was so incapacitated, she hoped that the normal rules of propriety would not apply.

As Elizabeth left to find a portable writing desk and materials, she wondered about her feelings for him. Before today, she had not liked him at all, and had made her disgust known. Now, with his explanations and kind words, her antipathy towards him had completely changed. Now, she admitted that she actually liked him. She was not sure just what it was that she felt for him, but when she thought of feeling the muscles in his leg, feeling her foot against him, pressing against him to keep him warm, and holding his head when he was moved, she knew that she felt something that she had never known before. In fact, she had not been aware that such feelings even existed. These memories made her tingle all over. To prevent her from developing even stronger feelings for him, she had to think of the huge divide between his social status and hers. She knew that this gulf made it impossible for him to think seriously about him or even to return her regard.

Meanwhile, Darcy was having similar thoughts. He knew that he had come to appreciate Miss Elizabeth's intelligence, beauty, and personality even before today. This morning showed him how competent, brave, and caring she was. She had not hesitated before she did whatever was necessary to help him, even if it went completely against her upbringing as a lady. Would any other lady would have felt his leg, braced her foot against him, or pressed herself against him, even under similar emergency situations? He could not imagine that any other ladies would have. Yet, she did it as she truly believed that this is what had to be done to save his life. He appreciated the fact that she did it even though she admitted, indirectly, that she did not even like him before this morning.

What a woman! No! What an incredible lady! He knew she would make an ideal Mistress of Pemberley, but when he considered how inappropriately her family acted, how much below his social class they were, he knew that London society would not accept her. In fact, they would make her life miserable. Their repulsion at her as his wife might even reflect on Georgiana and her role in society. As he was thinking these thoughts, the lady herself returned with the writing desk and paper.

'Would you like to me to sit here to admire your writing, how fast your words flow, how many words of four syllables that you use?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.

"Oh, you scamp! Please do not make me laugh as it hurts." Memories of Miss Bingley fawning over him at Netherfield made him laugh in spite of his efforts not to.

"Well then, I will leave you to write without my effusions." She made sure the bell rope was in his easy reach. "Just ring when you have finished your letter." She then left the room and went to her father's office.

"Papa, what are we going to do with Mr. Darcy for four or five weeks? I am sure that he is not one to be able to sit doing nothing. His valet will look after him, but he will need something to keep him occupied. He will want to borrow books, but he cannot read all the time. Perhaps you might go talk to him, even see if he would like to play chess? The girls and I could read to him when his eyes get tired, but it would not be seemly if we were with him all the time."

Her father looked carefully at his favourite daughter. "Lizzy, I know you did a lot more to set his leg than you said this morning. Whatever you did, it worked well as Mr. Cunningham was very impressed. When you are ready to talk, I would like to hear the details.

"I know that you did not even like Mr. Darcy before today. You made that very obvious. Are your feelings towards him better now after you nursed him so carefully?" He noticed her blush.

"Papa, I told him of my concerns about him, and he answered them very honestly. Now I know that I was wrong about him. He is a good man, likely one of the best men I will ever know. However, I am well aware that he can never think seriously about me. Our situations are just too different. I hope we can be friends, but that is all I can hope for.

"To tell you the truth, I am not sure why I did so much to help him this morning. When I saw him lying there, that scene with Mr. Cunningham helping Mr. Clark with his broken leg played out in my mind, even though it was a year ago. I remembered everything that he said and did, and I just followed his instructions. I did not think about anything else—he was just a person in need of help."

"Lizzy, I am proud of you and what you did. I am glad that you realize that your relationship with him can go nowhere. However, he will be a good friend to have. Yes, I will help keep him occupied. I will go to him with some books he might enjoy and ask him if he would like to play chess. What is he doing now?"

"He is writing his sister to tell her what happened. Then, I would guess that he will sleep. I will make sure his valet knows to keep us informed if he needs anything at all." She rose to go.

"Just be careful, Lizzy. I believe he is exactly the kind of man you could learn to love. Be sure not to let you mother find out that you like him. She would be ordering your trousseau tomorrow, and might even arrange for you to compromise him now that he cannot run away."


	5. Chapter 5

Darcy did not get to rest after he had finished his letter and given it to John to be sent express. Mr. Collins had been in his room when Hank had been sent out to search for Elizabeth, and he was still not down when Darcy was brought in. However, when he went down to break his fast, Darcy was the main subject of discussion. Collins was horrified at the news that Darcy had broken his leg, but he wondered how he could use his presence in the house to his advantage.

With the support and encouragement of Mrs. Bennet, he had planned to confront Miss Elizabeth to make his offer of marriage, which he was sure would be gratefully accepted. He decided that he had to pay his respects to Mr. Darcy first, so he went to the room where he had been placed. He knocked and was invited in. Darcy was not pleased to see him, especially as he was still experiencing pain. The pain killer that John had given him had not yet had time to be effective.

"Mr. Darcy, I was so sorry to hear about your accident. I am sure that your esteemed aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, will be horrified to hear about it. I know that she will want you to have to best of care, but will you be able to receive it here? Should I send for your surgeon in town? Should I send for her to come to you? Surely you will not stay here for too long." Collins was ready to continue spouting inanities, but Darcy cut him off.

"Collins! Enough! The surgeon here seems to be very competent and he is happy with the care I have already received. He said that I am not to be moved for several weeks, so I am content to be here where I know the Bennets will take good care of me.

"On another matter, tell me why you are here. Did Lady Catherine actually tell you to come here to make peace with the Bennets? Did she also tell you to find a wife from Bennet's daughters?"

"Yes, indeed. In her great condescension, she suggested that, as a man of God, I should not allow any discord to remain in the family without any efforts to eliminate it. The problems that might have existed between the branches of our family are now at an end because of the olive branch that I offered to Mr. Bennet. Her Ladyship's great wisdom made it obvious to me just what I had to do. I am glad to say that perfect accord now exists between us and I have ensured that any friction that might have existed is now completely gone.

"As for your question if Her Ladyship suggested that I should set a proper example for my flock by taking a wife, I agree with her completely. She certainly knows what is best for the people whose care she is so considerate of. Now that I am very comfortably settled in a fine house and have a decent income, it is definitely my duty to consider the future of the Bennet ladies when Mr. Bennet meets his end. I did, indeed, come here to see if I could find a suitable wife from among the Bennet ladies.

"At first, I obviously considered the oldest, Miss Bennet. The fact that she is the most attractive of them all did not detract from my interest. However, Mrs. Bennet was so kind to let me know that Miss Bennet already had an admirer and shortly expected that he would make an offer for her. So I set my sights on the next, Miss Elizabeth. She is comely and is not presently the object of any gentleman, so she is available. I believe that she is aware of my obvious interest and is eagerly awaiting my proposal, which I plan to make as early as today."

Darcy was horrified to hear of these plans. "Collins, wait! You have not considered how Lady Catherine will react to Miss Elizabeth. I am sure that she expects that the wife of her parson will have a religious frame of mind and will be dutiful, meek, and submissive to her husband. Surely you know that Miss Elizabeth exhibits none of these critical characteristics. I have not seen that she pays any special attention to religious matters. She is definitely not dutiful, meek or submissive. She is impertinent and opinionated. Imagine what will happen when she is disrespectful to Her Ladyship. She will not appreciate that at all and her behaviour will reflect on you as your wife."

Darcy hated even to suggest that she was less than perfect, but he had to deflect Collins from importuning her with a proposal that he knew would be repugnant to her. In the back of his mind he knew that he was very much attracted to her, even though he knew that the disparity in their positions meant that he could never seriously consider her as a possible wife for him.

"Lady Catherine would certainly not approve of Miss Elizabeth. She would be quite disappointed in you if you arrived with her as your wife. Have you considered any of the other three ladies?"

"Mr. Darcy, I am most grateful for your observations. Now that you have pointed out Miss Elizabeth's impertinence, I know that you are absolutely correct as to Lady Catherine's reaction to her if I introduced her as my wife. She is far too opinionated to satisfy her, or me. I do need a wife who will be my help meet, as the Good Book says. What do you think of Miss Mary?"

"Miss Mary definitely has a religious turn of mind. She is constantly reading Fordyce's Sermons and would make a perfect wife for a parson. I have never seen her to be disrespectful to anyone, so she will make a very dutiful wife. Collins, you are very perceptive to think of her. She will make you a fine wife. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your anticipated success.

"Now I need to rest, so Good Morning to you." With such an obvious dismissal, Collins left to find Miss Mary.

Meanwhile, at Netherfield, Miss Bingley was still in a frenzy trying to get everything ready for their departure and the closing up of the house. She suddenly realized that she had not seen Mr. Darcy that morning. "Louisa, where is Mr. Darcy? Is he ready to go? Everything else is just about done."

"I have not seen him this morning. He must have been out riding. We are just about ready. Even my husband is up and packed."

"Where is the housekeeper? She must know where he is." Not seeing her, Miss Bingley told a footman to find her. When Mrs. Rivers, the housekeeper, came, she demanded, "Where is Mr. Darcy? Is he ready to go?"

"He is at Longbourn. His valet packed up his things and left earlier this morning."

Miss Bingley was horrified to hear this. "At Longbourn? What on earth is he doing there? He is going to town with us."

"Have you not heard? Mr. Darcy was in a riding accident this morning and broke his leg. They took him to Longbourn as you were closing up this house."

"Why was I not told? Who told you? When did this happen?"

"I was told by a groom that Mr. Darcy told him to find his valet to pack up his clothes and take his carriage to Longbourn. That was earlier this morning."

"Why was I not told? I want that groom fired immediately."

"I am sorry, Miss Bingley, but we are employed by the owner of the estate. All the staff came with the house. Only he can terminate our employment here."

"You have not heard the last of this! This is intolerable. I cannot wait to see the last of this place. Are we ready to go? Now we have to go to Longbourn to rescue Mr. Darcy from that horrible family." These words did not impress the housekeeper as she knew how well they were thought of in the area. She would not be sorry to see the end of Miss Bingley.

Finally everything was packed into Bingley's carriage and she gave orders to go to Longbourn. Once there, she stormed up to the door and demanded of Mrs. Hill, who answered her knocks, "Where is he? Take me to him at once! I know he is here!"

Mrs. Hill had not cared for Miss Bingley the few times she had met her. "Do you mean Mr. Bennet, madam? I will see if he is at home. Please wait here." She did not wait for her reply or even invite her inside.

"Not him! Mr. Darcy! Where is he? I know he is here. Take me to him at once."

Mr. Bennet had seen the carriage arrive and heard the commotion at his front door. He too had not been impressed with Miss Bingley's manners, so he decided to have fun with her. "Good morning, Miss Bingley. How are you today? How is Mr. Bingley? How are the Hursts? To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this morning?"

"I know that you have kidnapped Mr. Darcy and are hiding him here when he cannot get away. Where is he? Take me to him at once!"

"Kidnapped? Mr. Darcy? That is a very strong word, madam. Are you quite sure that you know what you are accusing me of? If you believe I have committed the crime of kidnapping, should you not go to the magistrate? Sir William Lucas will be very interested to hear of your accusation. We have not had a kidnapping here in Meryton in my memory." Mr. Bennet was enjoying this.

However, Darcy could hear her very loud accusations and he knew he had to intervene. He told his valet to bring her to him. As John had also never been impressed with her manners, he also could not resist teasing her as well. "Good morning, Miss Bingley," he said cheerfully. "Mr. Darcy heard that you were here. Would you like to see him, or was your business with Mr. Bennet?"

Mr. Bennet was pleased to see that even this valet was getting into the spirit. "John, I believe that Miss Bingley had business with me. She accused me of kidnapping Mr. Darcy, so I suggested she should go see the magistrate, Sir William Lucas. He would be most interested to hear of such crimes here in Meryton. He does not have much to do as our magistrate."

By now, Miss Bingley was getting very red in the face. She turned to the valet, "You! Take me to Mr. Darcy right now! I demand to see him."

John was nonplussed. "I will go to see if he will receive you, madam." John moved off down the hall and Miss Bingley followed right behind him, not willing to remain in Mr. Bennet's company any longer. Mr. Bennet watched them move off with a satisfied smile on his face. When John opened the door to the small sitting room, she went right in.

She saw Darcy lying on the sofa, she went right to him. "Darcy, what are you doing here? We are going to London right now. Let's go." She turned to John. "You! Get him ready to leave right now!" John did not move; he only looked at his master.

Darcy had heard the exchange at the front door and was not impressed with what she had said. He had heard what had been said and understood that Mr. Bennet was enjoying how he was mocking Miss Bingley and that she had not realized the sport that was being made of her. "Good morning, Miss Bingley, how are you today?"

"Darcy, we do not have time for niceties. We need to get going if we are to make London before dark."

"Miss Bingley, I guess you have not heard that I had an accident this morning and broke my leg. The surgeon said I am not to be moved for several weeks, so I will not be going to London any time soon. They were going to take me to Netherfield until they heard you were leaving and closing up the house, so they brought me here instead. You had better get going if you do not want to spend a night on the road."

"Darcy, what kind of care will you get here? Come to London where we can look after you properly. How can you trust the surgeon in a small village such as this?"

"Miss Bingley! I am quite happy with the care I have received here already. John will look after me very well, as he has done for years. As I said, I will not be going with you, so you had better leave right away. John, please show Miss Bingley out. Good day to you." Darcy turned his face away from her and John opened the door to let her out.'

"Well, I never! Of all the ungrateful acts, after all I have done for you. Good day to you, too, Mr. Darcy." She left in a huff, and Darcy smiled to himself.

By now, all of the Bennet ladies were watching her go. Elizabeth went up to John. "Do you think Mr. Darcy would like to see me now?"

"Yes, I believe so. He needs to hear some kind words after that." He led her into the room and left them together, but with the door open.

"Mr. Darcy, I am so sorry you had to suffer through that, but there was nothing we could do to stop her. Would you like to just rest, or might I read to you for a while?"

"Miss Elizabeth, just seeing you soothes me after that woman. While Bingley is a good friend, I have to admit that his sister does upset me. I would like to hear some quiet words, so perhaps you might read to me. Nothing exciting, please."

"My father has a book of Wordsworth's poems. Will that do?"

"Yes. I do enjoy his poetry."

Elizabeth went out and came back with the book. She sat near him and began to read to him. Soon, she noticed that he was asleep, so she quietly went out and shut the door. She went to the kitchen and found John. "John, Mr. Darcy is asleep, which I believe will do him much good. I believe he should not be disturbed."

"I will see to it, Miss Elizabeth. Miss Bingley did upset him."

"Yes, but she has left for London, so I suppose we will not see her for quite some time. He needs peace and quiet to begin to heal." She went to the main sitting room and saw that Mr. Collins was sitting by Mary and that they were talking. Elizabeth took up her sewing and sat as far from them as she could.


	6. Chapter 6

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: A guest reviewer suggested that I must have deleted all of the negative reviews, leaving only positive ones. Let me assure everyone that I have never done that and will never do that. As a retired academic, I have received much more brutal critiques on my work from other academics than readers have given me on this site. I read every review very carefully as I want to improve my writing. Fiction is so much more fun to write than research reports that I am having fun. I hope you are enjoying my efforts, so do not hesitate to write precisely what you think, good and bad.**

Later that afternoon, at Matlock House in London, Georgiana was surprised to receive an express letter while she was sitting with her aunt, the Countess of Matlock, and her daughter Lady Amanda Fitzwilliam. The Countess said, "Georgiana, is it from Darcy? Please read it and tell us what it says. It must be important."

Georgiana read the letter and then read it out loud. "_My dearest Georgiana; I hope this letter finds you well. Do not be upset but I will not be coming to London as I had planned. This morning, while I went for an early ride on one of Netherfield's horses, just as we were going to jump over a large tree branch that had fallen across the trail, a fox ran from under it and startled the horse. I did not expect its sudden turn and was thrown off, breaking my leg. Fortunately, a local lady, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, had seen my accident and came to my aid. As the trail was used very little and we were some distance from either Netherfield or her father's estate of Longbourn, she did not want to wait for someone to find us or for her to leave me to go for help._

_ It was fortunate that, just the previous year, she had watched the local surgeon, a Mr. Cunningham, set one of her tenant's legs which had been broken in a location similar to my own. Miss Elizabeth said that Cunningham had stressed that a badly broken leg bone must not be left unset as there was a great danger of the jagged ends rupturing a blood vessel with likely fatal results. She bravely took it upon herself to set my leg and then tied branches along the break to immobilize it, using strips she had torn from her petticoat. I owe her a new petticoat. Finally, we were found by a groom from Longbourn who had been sent out to search for her and she sent him for help._

_ Cunningham came and had nothing but praise for her quick action and excellent results. He said he could not have done better himself. When they were going to take me back to Netherfield, they learned that Miss Bingley was closing up the house and leaving for town today. Miss Elizabeth convinced her father to invite me to go to Longbourn for my recuperation as there was nowhere else to take me. Cunningham said that I must not be moved for several weeks or there was a serious danger of damaging the break. Then I will be able to move some, with assistance, for another couple of weeks, and then I will be able to return to London. So I will be here for more than a month. John, my valet, the Bennets, and the Longbourn staff will take good care of me here._

_ So, my dearest one, I hope that your Aunt will extend her hospitality to you until I am able to return to Darcy House and you._

_ Your loving brother, Fitzwilliam_

Georgiana just sat there when she finished reading the letter out loud. Her aunt was the first to respond. "That is terrible news. Poor Darcy! We have to do something for him, even though he cannot be moved. I am not satisfied that only the local surgeon is there to look after him, especially as it seems that this unknown woman, I guess a lady, set his leg. I want our own surgeon to examine him. I also want to go to Longbourn to make sure that he will be well cared for. Georgiana, would you like to go as well? I will send a note to my surgeon, Mr. Harold Huggins, to go there tomorrow. He can accompany us, but he will likely want to use his own carriage so he can get back to his office as soon as possible. I have no idea where we can stay there if we cannot get back before dark, but we should pack for several days, just in case. I will write Huggins a note right now. Amanda, you do not need to go with us. When Richard gets back, I will ask him if he wants to go as well."

Georgiana was glad that her aunt had taken charge. She was pleased with these plans as she desperately wanted to go to her brother. All three ladies wondered who this Miss Elizabeth Bennet was and how she was able to set a broken leg as well as the local surgeon. They all thought that, if Darcy had the story straight, she must be some amazing lady, indeed.

When her son, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, came in from his military duties, Georgiana let him read Darcy's letter. Richard immediately said that he wanted to go as well and that he was sure he could get away for a couple of days as he was not very busy at the moment at army headquarters. The Countess received a note from Huggins saying that he would go with them and that he would come to Matlock House in the morning with his own carriage. They spent that evening wondering about Darcy and this Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Richard kept joking about what a poor horseman Darcy was to be thrown to the ground.

The next morning, after Huggins arrived, they set off in two carriages. Richard rode with his mother and Georgiana, but had a groom ride his horse alongside so he could return to town without waiting for them. After a few hours, they arrived at Meryton and asked the way to Longbourn. Everyone at Longbourn noticed the arrival of two carriages. They were very surprised when Mrs. Hill announced, "The Countess of Matlock, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, Mr. Harold Huggins, and Miss Georgina Darcy!" They saw that Miss Darcy was carrying a parcel.

Mr. Bennet had come out of the library and greeted the guests. "Your Ladyship, this is an unexpected pleasure. I am Mr. Thomas Bennet. May I present my wife, Mrs. Frances Bennet, my daughters Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia. This is my cousin, Mr. Collins." They all curtsied or bowed very politely. Kitty and Lydia were very excited to meet a Colonel in his fine red tunic and sword. "Miss Darcy, I assume you have come about your brother?"

The Countess replied as she knew how shy Georgiana was with so many strangers. "Yes. I am Darcy's aunt. Miss Georgiana is his sister. The Colonel is my son and Darcy's cousin. Mr. Huggins is my personal surgeon. I asked him to come with us to give a second opinion on Darcy's care."

Huggins spoke up, "I come only as a courtesy to her Ladyship, so please do not think that this is a slight on your local surgeon. It is not uncommon that I am asked to give a second opinion as I have many years of experience with broken bones. May I see Mr. Darcy, and could I ask that you send a message to Mr. Cunningham to ask him to attend us as soon as it is convenient?"

Mr. Bennet motioned to Mrs. Hill, and she went to find Hank.

Huggins continued, "I should see Mr. Darcy alone so I can examine him, if Your Ladyship will excuse me? Please lead me to him." Mr. Bennet led him to the small sitting room and Richard followed them.

Mrs. Bennet took over, "Your Ladyship, Miss Darcy, would you please be seated? Would you like some tea?" She motioned to Mrs. Hill who had returned. "It is a great honour to have you in my home. I can understand your concern for Mr. Darcy, but we have great faith in our local surgeon as he has been here for many years."

Both the Countess and Georgiana went to Elizabeth as they both wanted to meet her so eagerly. However, before they could speak, Collins could not restrain himself. "Your Ladyship! I have the honour of being the parson for Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who I believe is your sister?"

The Countess was not used to being addressed in this manner, but she deigned to reply. "Yes, she is the Earl's sister."

"I have the honour of telling you that both she and Miss Anne were in excellent health when I left them last week."

"Thank you for that information, Mr. Collins, but I would like to speak to Miss Elizabeth." The Countess and Georgiana had sat on the sofa with Elizabeth. "Miss Elizabeth, I understand that we owe you a very large debt of gratitude for the assistance that you gave to Darcy. We read Darcy's account of his accident and I cannot understand how you did everything that you did, and apparently with great success. I will want to hear the full details at some point in time, but not now. Now I would just like to get to know you better. I am very impressed with what you did." She noticed that Elizabeth blushed on hearing this praise, which raised her estimate of the young lady.

Just then Mrs. Hill came in with tea and pastries, which Mrs. Bennet served. She was very intimidated to have such an illustrious guest in her house, so her manners were much subdued from her normal exuberant behaviour. The Countess made small talk with both Elizabeth and her mother. Even though Mr. Collins wanted desperately to speak with her, the Countess ignored him.

In the small sitting room, Mr. Huggins finished examining Darcy, including a very careful feel of the broken leg. "Darcy, are you very sure your leg was broken? I cannot feel any break, or even any irregularity in the bone."

"I looked at my leg when Miss Elizabeth first found me. There was a definite bump above my knee. The bone did not look straight and it hurt something fierce. After she set it, the bump was gone and it was straight and did not hurt quite as much. I assume that meant that the bone was broken?"

"Yes, it certainly seems that way."

Just then, Mrs. Hill announced the arrival of Mr. Cunningham and he entered the room where all of the men were. Mr. Bennet introduced him to Mr. Huggins and the Colonel. "Mr. Harold Huggins? From Harley Street? I have heard of you and have long wanted to meet you. Your reputation is impeccable. Welcome to Hertfordshire. Were you called in for a second opinion?"

"Yes, I was. From my examination of Darcy's leg, it appears to have been set just right. I could not have done better, myself. Did you set it?"

"No. I agree with you. It was set very well, but Miss Elizabeth apparently had set it herself before I arrived."

"How on earth did she manage to do it? Does she have any medical training? Perhaps as your assistant or nurse?"

"No, none at all. From what she said, she had watched me when I set one of Bennet's tenant's legs last year. She said she just remembered what I did and said, and copied me. I remember that case and that I talked about what I was doing as I saw she was curious and interested. Miss Elizabeth is a remarkable lady; one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. If she had been a man, she would have made an excellent physician."

"Mr. Bennet, I would like to speak to her. Did you ask her about what she had done?"

"Yes, I did, but she was not very forthcoming about the details. I believe she was too embarrassed to tell her father just what she had to do."

"Then would you mind if just Cunningham and I talk to her? I really want to hear how she managed to do such a good job. Colonel, she might not feel comfortable with you here either, even though I suspect that if you have been in battle, nothing would embarrass you. Mr. Bennet, would you mind asking her to come to us?"

Mr. Bennet and the Colonel went out, and Mr. Bennet returned with Elizabeth. "Lizzy, they just want to hear what you did to set Darcy's leg. Please just tell them what you did." He went out and closed the door.

As Cunningham knew Elizabeth well, he spoke first. "Miss Elizabeth, please do not worry. We are both so impressed with what you did that we would like to hear just how you set Darcy's leg. We asked your father to leave us as we appreciate that some of the things you did might not be what you want your father to hear. Please start from the beginning when you first came upon Darcy."

Elizabeth was embarrassed, but the two surgeons gently led her to speak of exactly what she saw and did. Most upsetting to her were her descriptions of how she felt his leg to ascertain just how the bones were offset and how she had to put her foot on him so she could pull his leg bones apart. The surgeons made her demonstrate her actions several times, much to her mortification. She hesitated to touch Darcy with an audience. She even mentioned how she kept Darcy warm by lying on him, which caused tears to flow from her humiliation at how bold she had been. Darcy wanted nothing more than to hold her to comfort her, but he could only watch as Cunningham offered her his handkerchief.

Huggins was most impressed, "Miss Elizabeth, I could not have done a better job myself. You did everything exactly right. You did nothing wrong and left out not even one important step. I am most impressed with your willingness to undertake such delicate steps with no assistance. That must have gone completely against your upbringing as a lady. You also had the foresight to ask that a door be brought so Darcy could be moved with no further injury to the break. That was inspired, indeed.

"Mr. Darcy, I certainly concur with Miss Elizabeth's concern about the importance of setting the bone as soon as possible. I have seen cases where the slightest movement caused the sharp ends of broken bones to puncture blood vessels, which can be fatal. You may very well owe your life to her quick actions. I am not sure how you can repay her."

Elizabeth spoke up, "Mr. Darcy, I did only what I thought needed to be done in an emergency. I did not do it for a reward and do not expect one. You do not owe me anything."

"Miss Elizabeth, as much as I respect your attitude, I would not feel right if I did not reward you in some way. If you will not accept anything from me, I will do something for your family. I promise you that.

"Mr. Huggins, do you concur with the treatment outlined by Mr. Cunningham?"

"Yes. No movement of your leg for about three weeks, then only very careful movement for about two more weeks. You will need about two full months before you can walk, and then only with a cane. Now we should let you rest. I will speak to the Countess."

Before the three of them went out, Elizabeth asked Darcy if he wanted to speak to his aunt and sister now, as she said she was sure that they wanted to see him. He agreed and the three of them went to the main sitting room, where Mr. Bennet introduced Cunningham to the Countess and Miss Darcy.


	7. Chapter 7

Huggins spoke to the Countess, "Your Ladyship, Darcy would like to see you, but before you go, I must say that I am most impressed with the care that he has received and am quite sure that he will be in good hands here for his recuperation. I can only add that, in my opinion, he very well may owe his life to the quick actions of Miss Elizabeth. With a break as bad as he had, any movement of the broken bones could have ruptured a blood vessel, with possibly fatal results. I will also say that I have full confidence in Mr. Cunningham's ability to treat Darcy."

The Countess and Miss Darcy rose, "Mr. Huggins, thank you for your professional opinion. I am very pleased to hear your report. I would like to speak to you more after we speak to Darcy, so will you wait for us?'

"Of course, My Lady."

Elizabeth showed the Countess and Georgiana to Darcy's room. Before she left, Georgiana shyly handed her the package she had been carrying. "Miss Elizabeth, when my brother described how you had to tear your petticoat to tie the branches you used as splints, he said he owed you a new one. Here, I brought you the best one I could find." Elizabeth was very surprised to receive this, but she thanked her politely and left them with Darcy. Georgiana ran straight to her brother and knelt down to hug him. "Oh, Fitzwilliam, I was so worried about you. Does it hurt much?"

"Georgie, it is so good to see you! Aunt, good day to you, and thank you for bringing her to me. I admit that it hurt quite badly until it was set. Now it is almost tolerable, but Cunningham left some draughts with my valet in case it gets worse." Georgiana stayed beside him and held his hand.

"Darcy, I brought Huggins to make sure that the treatment you are receiving is of proper quality, and he assures me that it is. He was most impressed with how Miss Elizabeth took quick action to set the bone, which may very well have saved your life. You certainly owe her a huge debt. How are you going to repay her?"

"I already spoke to her, but she insists that I owe her nothing. She is a remarkable lady, one of the most extraordinary women I have ever met. I definitely must do something for her, or even for her whole family, but they likely would not accept anything too obvious, such as cash. They are very proper gentle people even though their estate is small and they have no known connections in town."

Georgiana spoke up, "Could we invite Miss Elizabeth, or even her and her sisters, to come to stay with us for part of the season? We could make sure they went to some good entertainments."

The Countess spoke up, "Georgiana, that is a great idea, but it would not be proper to invite the ladies to stay with you with no appropriate chaperone. Darcy, why not invite the whole family to stay at Darcy House? They may not get to town much and would appreciate that. If you do that, I will make sure they receive invitations to some good functions. The youngest girls will not be able to go to everything, but they all could go to the opera, concerts, and other events. I will hold several family dinners so everyone will be able to attend. The youngest girls might be good companions for Georgiana."

Georgiana became excited at this prospect. "Fitzwilliam, if you will be very generous, I will take them shopping for new clothes. If I say that was my gift to them, they should accept it."

Darcy could see that this was a good idea. "I agree with everything you say. I will need to stay here for about a month, but I should be able to go back to town by Christmas. Then I will need more time before I can get back on my feet properly. What if I invite them for the month of March? There will be lots going on in town then." Seeing that they agreed on this timing, he added, "If you will send Mr. Bennet in to me, I will ask him. He is a strange fellow, but I believe he will do anything for Miss Elizabeth, so I believe he will agree. I am not sure about Mrs. Bennet, though. Her behaviour is not always very genteel; she can get quite excited, to say the least. Aunt, you may have to try to dampen down her exuberance when we are out in public.

"What are your plans? It is too late to get back to town before dark."

"Darcy, you know that I can look after Mrs. Bennet if I need to. Leave her to me. I agree that it is too late to return to town now. Will the Bennets be able to put us up for the night?"

"I am not sure. With their cousin here, they may not have a suitable room for you. However, Miss Elizabeth is very sensible and will work something out." The Countess noted Darcy's appreciation of this lady, and wondered if he was developing tender feelings for her. While she knew that their relatively modest social position would be criticized by people of the highest classes, Elizabeth's intelligence, good sense, and good manners would count for a lot. She decided that she had to get to know this lady better. She wished that Darcy would find a wife, but she knew how disappointed he was with the ladies he had met in town. From what she had seen of her, Miss Elizabeth just might be suitable for him in spite of her disadvantages.

The ladies left and asked Mr. Bennet to go to see Darcy. The Countess spoke to Mrs. Bennet, "Mrs. Bennet, it is too late for us to return to town. Is there somewhere suitable where we can stay for the night?"

Mrs. Bennet was all flustered. "My Lady, there is an inn in Meryton, but it is not suitable for you. I would be happy to have you stay with us except that Mr. Collins is in our guest room. Miss Darcy could easily use one of the girls' rooms as they can double up. I am not sure about the Colonel or Mr. Huggins."

Mr. Collins spoke up, "Your Ladyship, I cannot remain in the guest room if such an illustrious guest such as yourself is in need of it. I am sure that the inn would be quite suitable for a humble person such as myself. Mrs. Bennet, please have someone pack up my belongings and I will go to the inn. That is the least I can do for a relative of my esteemed patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. In any case, I have to return to my duties in Kent tomorrow, so it will be for only one night."

Mrs. Bennet replied, "Mr. Collins, that is a very gracious offer. My Lady, would you accept our hospitality?"

"I thank you, Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet, I will accept the offer of your guest room for the night."

The Colonel then spoke, "Mrs. Bennet, you do not need to worry about me as I understand that a colleague of mine, Colonel Forster, is stationed here with his militia regiment. I know that he will have no problem putting me up with his officers for the night. I will also dine with them. I have to get back to town tomorrow, so that will work out." He said his very polite good-byes to everyone, with a special word to Elizabeth. "Miss Elizabeth, I cannot thank you enough for all the help you have given my cousin. I understand that he likely owes you his life, so I will make sure he remembers his debt to you. You are an amazing lady." He kissed her hand when he said that. His departure was felt most keenly by Kitty and Lydia as they were enamoured of his red uniform, sword and all.

Mr. Cunningham then spoke up, "Huggins, I will gladly offer you hospitality for the night as I would like to talk to you about some medical questions that I have. If you are finished here, we can go to my place. Your Ladyship, I assure you that I will return tomorrow to check on Mr. Darcy. He will receive the best of care while he is here." The two surgeons took their leave of everyone.

Mrs. Bennet found Mrs. Hill and gave her orders about the belongings of Mr. Collins and went to confer with her cook about dinner. Elizabeth turned to Georgiana, "You can have my room as I can easily double up with Jane. My Lady, would you and Miss Darcy care to take a turn in our gardens before we dress for dinner? That will give the maids a chance to get your room ready." Jane and Elizabeth led the two ladies out and began to stroll in the gardens. The Countess took Elizabeth's arm and Jane offered hers to Georgiana.

"Miss Elizabeth, again I cannot thank you enough for all that you did for my nephew. From what the surgeons both said, you likely saved his life. Darcy is my favourite nephew, so I want you to remember that I feel a very deep obligation to you. If there is anything I can ever do for you, please feel free to ask. I already talked to Darcy about something that he can do to show his appreciation to you and your family. He is inviting your father to bring your whole family to stay at Darcy House for the month of March so you can all enjoy some of the many entertainments that are available in the season. I will make sure that you receive invitations to some of the best balls and dinners. You know that your youngest sisters will not be able to be out in town, but there will be enough family dinners and other more casual entertainments that they will have events to look forward to. There will also be the opera, concerts, and recitals, so we will be busy. I also told Darcy that Georgiana and I will take you all shopping for new outfits so you will be comfortable mingling with the ladies at these events. Of course, that will be Darcy's gift by way of Georgiana. Now, do not shake your head, Miss Elizabeth, please just accept our generosity. That will not affect Darcy's purse in the slightest."

"My Lady, while I would not even consider accepting such gifts only for myself, I will reconcile myself to accept them for my sisters. They will be thrilled to receive new outfits to go out in town.

"Now I believe that it is time to dress for dinner. I will show you up to our guest room. I am sure that your lady's maid will have everything ready for you." When they went in, Elizabeth showed the Countess up to the guest room and she led Georgiana to her own room.

"Miss Darcy, I am afraid that I will be constantly interrupting you in this room as I will be leaving my clothes here. As I have four sisters, we are used to going in and out at any time, but that might make you uncomfortable."

"Please call me Georgiana or Georgie. You know that I have never had sisters, but I wish I did. May I ask you to treat me just like another sister? We will be seeing a lot of each other and I would love that. I feel that I am inconveniencing you by taking your room, so do come in at any time."

"Then you must call me Elizabeth or Lizzy. Georgie, it will be easier for me to treat you as another sister, but it will be more difficult for you as you have never had one. Please do not worry about anything; you will find we are not at all formal among just ourselves. I will warn you that we do not have any secrets among us, so some of our talk might not be what you are used to hearing."


	8. Chapter 8

When Colonel Fitzwilliam rode into the militia camp, he asked the way to Colonel Forster. A soldier saluted him and showed him to the tent that served as headquarters and led him in to his Colonel. When Forster saw him, he said, "Colonel Fitzwilliam! Richard! How good to see you again. What are doing here in Meryton? I thought you were assigned to the London headquarters?"

"Colonel Forster! Stanley! I came here to see my cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, who had a riding accident and broke his leg. He is at Longbourn to recuperate for some weeks. As it is too late to return to town tonight, I thought I would beg a billet and dinner with you and your officers for one night."

"No problem at all. You are very welcome Corporal! Show Colonel Fitzwilliam to an empty cot so he can stow his gear. Then come back here so we can talk before dinner." When Richard came back to Forster, they chatted for a while about what they each had been doing since they last saw each other. Then Forster invited him to the officers' dining tent.

When they entered the dining tent, Forster was astounded when Richard immediately grabbed one of the officers by the neck and had his sword out and pointed at his heart before anyone could react. "Colonel Fitzwilliam! What is the meaning of this? What do you know about Lieutenant Wickham?"

"I have known Wickham all my life and knew that he is a dirty, low-down blackguard. Wherever he has gone, he has left unpaid debts with shopkeepers and colleagues alike. I know for a fact that he has ruined more than one innocent young woman. With Wickham as one of your officers, the reputation of your whole regiment will be destroyed, along with the honour of all of His Majesty's armed forces. I have a personal history with this villain and would like nothing more than to run him through to rid the country of his evilness. How long has he been here?"

"Not long, a couple of weeks."

"Colonel Forster, might I suggest that you assign several of your officers to canvass the local shopkeepers to see how much he already owes in town? You may need to do the same with all of his fellow officers if he has been gambling. We can just hope that he has not had enough time here to work his evil ways with the local girls. Colonel, this nasty piece of work will ruin your reputation if he is allowed to run loose in town."

Colonel Forster knew that the reputation of the militia was already tainted in some parts of the country because of the wild behaviour of some of its officers and men, and he did not want his own future career damaged if what Fitzwilliam had said was true. He also knew that he could trust Fitzwilliam completely as his reputation was impeccable. "Major Wilkins, you are now in charge of investigating what Colonel Fitzwilliam has said. Assign several officers to ask in every shop in Meryton how much Lieutenant Wickham owes. Do the same with all of his fellow officers. Wickham is now restricted to base and you are responsible to see that he does not leave. Report to me of your finding within twenty-four hours. Now, get him out of my sight." Richard was impressed with Forster's immediate decisions but he knew that no senior officer wanted to be guilty of bringing his whole regiment into disrespect by the local population.

After this incident, dinner with the officers was much quieter than normal as Wickham's perfect manners and pleasing personality had made him a favourite with his colleagues. However, several were already owed money from him, and this became known. Someone also knew that Colonel Fitzwilliam was the son of an earl and already had an excellent reputation for his battle prowess, so soon everyone knew that his accusations could be believed.

At Longbourn, dinner was interesting. Mrs. Bennet was already planning her next day's visits to her friends and neighbours to brag about hosting a countess at her table. The Countess was seated next to Mr. Bennet, with Jane on his other hand. Mr. Collins was next to Mrs. Bennet, and Mary was next to him. At the specific request of the Countess, Elizabeth was next to her. Miss Darcy was between Elizabeth and Kitty. Lydia was on her mother's other hand as her favourite daughter. The Countess greatly enjoyed the conversations she was having with both Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth. She found that both were very intelligent and had a similar sardonic sense of humour. No matter what topic they discussed, both seemed to be knowledgeable about it and could talk sensibly. She did not miss the gossip and other shallow topics that seemed to be prevalent among her London acquaintances. The discussions with the Bennets were challenging, but very agreeable. All in all, her impression of Elizabeth rose tremendously. She wondered if Darcy realized just how worthy this lady was. She ended the dinner knowing that if Darcy decided to pursue Miss Elizabeth, she would do whatever she could to assist her to be accepted into the highest levels of London society where she and Darcy belonged.

Just before the dinner ended, Mr. Bennet asked for everyone's attention. "Before dinner, I had a very interesting discussion with Mr. Darcy. He is very appreciative of how Lizzy helped him after his accident and wants to reward her for her prompt actions that likely saved his life. Rather than single her out, he has decided that he will extend his gratitude to the whole family. He has asked me if we would accept his offer to host all of us at Darcy House in town for a whole month. He has promised to take us to a number of the entertainments that will be available then. However, Kitty and Lydia, he pointed out that the more formal customs in town would not accept that you are out at your age. He did say that there will still be many events that you will be able to attend. He also said that, as a special gift, he and Miss Darcy will take all of you shopping for new outfits when you first arrive there. As he wants to be walking when we come, he needs at least two months to recuperate. He suggested that by March, he should be well healed to be a good host."

Just before the girls and his wife began their anticipated excitement, The Countess spoke, which caused everyone to listen attentively. "I am in complete agreement with Darcy's offer and promise to host you all at Matlock House for several dinners while you are there. I also agreed to arrange for invitations to some of the best balls and other events. Miss Catherine, Miss Lydia, I hope that you will not be too disappointed at not being considered to be out in town as Miss Darcy is not out either. I am confident that the three of you will find plenty to do to keep busy even when the rest of us go to some of the more formal events. I will also go with you when you go shopping with Miss Darcy, so you will be assured of receiving prompt attention wherever we go."

Now the Bennets all expressed their excitement or disappointment at the Countess's words. Fortunately, both Kitty and Lydia saw their father's very stern looks and did not bemoan their fate too loudly. Mrs. Bennet was likely the most excited at the prospect of new outfits for all of her daughters and the thought that they should be meeting some very eligible gentlemen in town. She greatly lamented the exclusion of her two youngest daughters at the best balls and other entertainments, but hoped that their inclusion at other, less formal, events would be sufficient for them to shine.

The only Bennets who did not look forward to this invitation were Mr. Bennet and Mary. Mr. Bennet did not care to go to any public entertainments, but he reconciled himself with the promise of exploring the library at Darcy House, which he had heard was very fine. He also worried at the cost of this expedition, even though the main costs would be borne by Darcy. He also knew that he would have to suffer through the effusions of his wife. Mary did not look forward to going to any entertainments as she considered them to be frivolous and not at all enlightening. During dinner, she had been enjoying talking to Mr. Collins as she found him to be informative on many religious questions. She had spent the whole dinner in discussions with him on serious topics, much to her satisfaction.

After dinner, as Mr. Bennet did not care to be isolated with Collins, everyone retired to the sitting room, except for the Countess and Georgiana, who went to see how Darcy was doing. They found him awake as John had just helped him with a tray of dinner. Darcy's spirits were reasonably good as his pain was less because of his immobility and John's doses of laudanum. They spoke some more of their plans to invite the Bennets in March and Darcy's hope that he could return to Darcy House before Christmas.

Georgiana spoke up, to the surprise of her brother and aunt. "Fitzwilliam, I do not like to leave you here alone. Would it be asking too much if we asked Mr. Bennet if he would let me stay with you until you can go back to town? I would like to be in the company of these young ladies as you know that I do not have many friends of my own age. Aunt, would you let me stay here?"

Darcy was the first to respond, "It would be nice to have you with me. Aunt, what do you think?"

"I can certainly see that you would like to have her as company. My only hesitation is that I do not have confidence in Mrs. Bennet or the two youngest, but Mr. Bennet and the two oldest appear to be very reliable and sensible. Fitzwilliam, I have no serious objections. I will go to speak to Mr. Bennet." She went to the sitting room and went up to her host. "Mr. Bennet, I have a very large favour to ask of you. Miss Darcy would like to stay here with her brother until he can go to London. May we ask for your hospitality for her? It should only be for a few weeks as Darcy expects to be able to return to town before Christmas."

Mr. Bennet said, "I have no objection. As I am already outnumbered by six to one, making it seven to one would not be much different. Mrs. Bennet? What do you think?"

"Of course we would love to host Miss Darcy for as long as needed. I know that my girls would like to have company as fine as Miss Darcy."

The Countess smiled on hearing this. "Thank you very much. As soon as I get back to London, I will send her maid with clothing. I assume you will be able to accommodate her maid as well?"

"Certainly."

The rest of the evening was spent very pleasantly, and Elizabeth and Mary were prevailed upon to provide music when the Countess was not speaking to Elizabeth. Until Collins returned to the inn, he was always near Mary. Georgiana spent most of the time with Darcy until he said that he was ready for John.

When they went up, Mrs. Bennet sent their maid, Sally, to assist the Countess. As Georgiana was using Lizzy's room, they went there together and helped each other get ready. As Georgiana was excited to have another young lady for company, she talked and talked until Lizzy convinced her that it was time for them to sleep. Rather than letting Lizzy go to Jane's room, she shyly offered to share her bed, which Lizzy accepted. Lizzy was surprised to hear that this was the very first time Georgiana had ever shared her bed, which made her realize just how different their upbringings were.


	9. Chapter 9

In the morning, Lizzy was awake early and found Georgiana curled up beside her. She rose quietly and dressed. While she normally would have gone out for an early morning walk, she decided she should not do so today. Instead, she went down to the breakfast room where she found her father and the Countess already there. "Good morning, My Lady, Father. You are both up early."

"Good morning to you, Miss Elizabeth. It is so quiet there that I had a very restful sleep and woke up earlier than I normally do. I find that the streets of London seem to be noisy all night. I have been having a very interesting conversation with your father. I also checked on Darcy, and he was awake and his valet was already with him. He seems to be resigned to being inactive while he recuperates. I hope that you, your father, and Georgiana will keep him occupied while he is here. He tends to brood when he is alone, which is not healthy for him. He is very impressed with you and I am not unhappy with this as I share his opinion. Mr. Bennet, you have raised a remarkable daughter. I look forward to seeing you in March."

While Lizzy was embarrassed to be so praised, her father speculated on what the Countess had implied. He suspected that allowing his favourite daughter to be much in Darcy's company while he was incapacitated would result in Darcy developing a strong regard for her. He hated the thought that he would lose her at some point in time; he had hoped that that time would not be very soon. He decided that he should get to know Darcy better so he could judge if he was worthy of his special daughter. About the only positive aspect of Darcy that he knew now was that his wealth would ensure that his Lizzy would have a very comfortable life if they ended up together.

When Georgiana came in, she said that she had also gone in to her brother and that he had asked for her or Miss Elizabeth to read to him after they had eaten. The Countess noticed immediately that her niece was much livelier than she usually was after only one day here, and she wondered how she changed she would be after several weeks in their company as there was such a noticeable improvement already. In a way, she was displeased at her own unsuccessful efforts in trying to overcome her shyness, but she realized that she was just not as attuned to her as young ladies near her own age would be.

By the time the Countess was ready to leave, all the Bennets were down, so they said their farewells until they would meet again in March. During her ride into town, she continued to be amazed at how impressed she was with Miss Elizabeth. While she had always hoped that Darcy would eventually find a wife from among the highest levels of London society, she believed that, if he came to realize just how special Elizabeth was, he would have a very happy life with her. Her own marriage had been arranged by their parents, but she knew that she was lucky as she had been happy with her husband. She had come to regret that it had not been a love match from the beginning. From what she had seen of Elizabeth, she believed that she and Darcy could easily learn to love each other deeply if he gave himself a chance to look beyond her relatively low origins. Before Elizabeth had come down to breakfast, she had asked Bennet whether they had any relatives in town. He had described the Gardiners as being very genteel, even though Mr. Gardiner ran his own business, which Bennet had assured her that was very successful. The Countess decided that she would call on Mrs. Gardiner so she could learn more about Miss Elizabeth. While she had never been in Cheapside and barely knew where it was, she decided that it could be important for Darcy's future.

Back at Longbourn, Mr. Bennet was surprised to receive a visit from Colonel Fitzwilliam, who came to tell him about Wickham's history and how he had suggested that Colonel Forster investigate his debts in Meryton. While he was not able to wait until the results of the investigation were finalized, he suggested that, if Forster was as angry with Wickham as he expected, he would either be cashiered out of the militia or would be forcibly transferred to a front-line regiment facing the French. He hoped that he would be transferred as he hated the thought of him running loose anywhere in the country to harm other innocent shopkeepers and maidens.

After leaving Bennet in his library, the Colonel went into the sitting room to pay his respects and farewell to the Bennet ladies. After impressing them again with his excellent and easy manners, he went to Darcy, where he found Georgiana reading to him. "Darcy, I see that I find you in good hands. Georgiana, did my mother leave for town? Why did you not go with her?"

"I decided that I would rather stay here with Fitzwilliam, and Aunt agreed with my request. We received permission for me to stay until we can both go back to town. I am looking forward to helping my brother and getting to know Miss Elizabeth and her sisters better. It should only be for a few weeks and we should be back in town by Christmas."

"I have to admit that I would not mind getting to know her better myself. She is a very impressive lady. Darcy, if you do not pursue her, I might do it myself. She is a lady, incredibly intelligent and capable, attractive, and very nice besides. What else could I ask for, except for a generous dowry? My father has already said that he would not see me starve when I marry, so I could easily forgo the need for a large dowry." While the Colonel had no plans to look for a wife just yet, he could not pass a chance to make Darcy jealous as he had already seen that his cousin was interested in Miss Elizabeth.

Georgiana saw what he was doing and decided to go along with him as she would like nothing better than to have Elizabeth as her sister. "You will have a chance to get to know her better as Fitzwilliam invited the whole Bennet family to spend the month of March as our guests in town. Your mother has said she will make sure that they receive invitations to some of the best events."

"Wonderful! I will make sure I receive invitations to those same events. Darcy, you will not mind, will you?" he asked innocently.

These words made Darcy realize that he had to think carefully about his feelings for Miss Elizabeth. He was afraid that Richard's easy manners could indeed be as attractive to her as they were to most ladies. He was glad that he would have several weeks to decide what he would do in the future.

Before he left, Richard decided to tease Darcy even more. "Darcy, I do not want you to suffer any more falling off horses! I know just the horse for you. It is small enough that you will be able to just put your feet down to stand up instead of falling. I will bring it to Darcy House for you when you come back."

Georgiana could not help but laugh. "Richard! That is not nice. It is a good thing that Fitzwilliam cannot get up to go after you. Now, good-bye to you. We will see you at Christmas." Richard went out laughing as well.

The next visitor was Mr. Collins, who came to call on Mary. When he asked for a private interview with her, Mrs. Bennet shooed the other girls out of the sitting room. It was not long until Collins went to find Mr. Bennet, and Mrs. Bennet ran in to Mary, who was beaming. "Oh, my darling girl! Did Mr. Collins make you an offer? Did you accept? Of course you did! Congratulations to you. You will be the first one married."

Collins and Mr. Bennet came out and Mr. Bennet announced that Mr. Collins had asked for permission to marry Mary, and that he had given it, with his blessing. With these words, all the women were loud in their excitement. Mr. Collins did not stay long after they decided that the wedding would be held in early January. He left to return to Hunsford.

Elizabeth went in to the Darcys and she told them that Mr. Collins had asked Mary to marry him and that she had accepted. Darcy was pleased that Miss Elizabeth would not be importuned by his unwanted attentions. He also thought that there would be one less Bennet daughter to host in March. Darcy asked her for writing materials as he had to write to his steward to forward any important documents to him. He also wrote to his two housekeepers. To Mrs. Reynolds at Pemberley, he told her about his accident and that they would not be spending Christmas there as they had done in the past. To Mrs. North, his housekeeper in London, he also told her about his accident and that he was not sure when they would go back, but that he hoped it would be by Christmas, depending on what the surgeon said. After he had written his letters, he asked Elizabeth to read to him.


	10. Chapter 10

When Bingley arrived in London, he went to a hotel as he planned to be there for only a couple of days until he sorted out the business problem that had arisen with his investments. He was astounded to receive a message late that same day from Miss Bingley that she and the Hursts were in town at the Hurst townhouse. This plan had not been mentioned before he left Netherfield. He went to them to find out what happened.

"Oh, Charles! I just could not stand to be out in the country at this time of year. The people there are simply intolerable. We decided we had to come back to enjoy some of the entertainments that are beginning now."

"What about Netherfield House? How did you leave it?"

"We closed it up and let most of the staff go who were not employed by the estate. I do not see us going back there again."

"Why on earth did you do that? I do want to go back there. I like it there and I was learning about running an estate. What about Miss Bennet? I like her and wanted to get to know her better."

"Charles, she certainly was the best person there; in fact, the only person worthy of our notice. You cannot forget how awful her family is. Her mother! Her youngest sisters! They were simply embarrassing. You will meet much better people here. I have already sent out messages that we have returned to town so we will be receiving invitations very soon. Tomorrow, Louisa and I will start making the rounds to make sure everyone knows we are back in town."

Bingley was not pleased at all with her actions, but he was used to giving way to his sisters. He instructed Oliver, his valet, to move his belongings from the hotel to the Hurst townhouse.

The next morning, when Oliver was helping Bingley dress, he said, "Mr. Bingley, it may not be my place to speak of this, but I heard the other staff members talk about Mr. Darcy being thrown from his horse and breaking his leg early yesterday morning. They were going to take him to Netherfield to recuperate, but, as Miss Bingley was closing up the house, they took him to Longbourn instead. I believe that he is there now. I understand that Miss Bingley went to Longbourn to bring him back to town but he cannot be moved for several weeks. I was not sure if you were aware of this."

"What! No, I had not heard this. Thank you for telling me." Now Bingley was very upset with his sister; first, for closing up Netherfield and coming to town without consulting with him, and, second, for not telling him that Darcy was stuck in Hertfordshire with a broken leg. When he was dressed, he went to find his sister.

"Caroline, I just heard that Darcy broke his leg at Netherfield and had to go to Longbourn to recuperate. Did you know about this?"

"Yes, I heard something had happened to him and that the Bennets kidnapped him to force him to stay with them. I am not sure what the situation really is, but I do not trust them in the slightest. They must have plans to compromise him to force him to marry one of their daughters. I went to Longbourn to bring him back but they would not let him leave."

Even though Bingley usually believed his sister, he found her words simply not credible. He decided he would have to try to find out what actually happened. After he had eaten, he called for his carriage and went to Darcy House. He learned nothing there as the housekeeper, Mrs. North, had not heard any news. In fact, she was shocked at what Mr. Bingley told her and hoped that she would learn what the situation actually was very soon. He next went to Matlock House to visit Darcy's uncle to see what they knew.

When the Earl received Bingley's card, he remembered that he was Darcy's friend, so he agreed to see him. Bingley said, "Good morning, My Lord. I am a good friend of Darcy's and just heard some dreadful news about him. I just returned to town yesterday and expected to find Darcy here, but no one at Darcy House knows what happened to him. My valet told me that the rumour is that Darcy broke his leg in a riding accident in Hertfordshire and is at the Bennet estate of Longbourn there to recuperate as he cannot be moved. May I ask if you heard anything about this?"

"Good morning to you, Bingley. As I know that you are a good friend of Darcy's, I will tell you what I know. Yesterday we received an express from Darcy telling us that he had broken his leg and that it was set by someone locally there. He was taken to this Longbourn estate to recuperate as your estate of Netherfield was being closed up. This morning, the Countess and Miss Darcy left for Hertfordshire with our own surgeon to make sure that he is receiving good care. That is all I know."

"My Lord, thank you very much for this information. That is the first definite news that I have heard. I am very relieved to hear that his family members have gone there to check on him. I had to come to town to sort out some business problems, but I will return to Hertfordshire as soon as I can and will stay there as long as it takes to make sure he is well cared for. If he has a broken leg, he will not be able to move for several weeks, at least. I will help him return to town if he needs any help. Would you like me to keep you informed on what I learn?"

"Yes, I would appreciate that, although I expect that the Countess and Miss Darcy will return in just a couple of days and will update me then." Bingley then took his leave from the Earl and went to the office of his man of business to work on his business problem to try to sort it out as soon as possible.

When Bingley got back to the Hurst townhouse, Caroline immediately went to him to tell him to dress as they were invited out to dinner. She went on to list a number of invitations that they had received. She said that it was critical to their future to accept all of the invitations that they could, so they could not possibly think of leaving town for the next couple of months. Bingley saw what she was doing—she was trying to prevent him from returning to Netherfield.

"Caroline, stop! I will tell you right now that I am going back to Netherfield as soon as I have sorted out my business problems. I have already written to Mrs. Rivers, that I will be returning in just a few days and that she should get the house ready for me. While I am here, I will go with you whenever I can, but do not try to force me. You cannot try to make me stay in town just because you accepted invitations for the both of us. I will be leaving as soon as I can. We cannot just leave Darcy there without anyone to help him, and I will be renewing my attentions to Miss Bennet."

"But Charles! I need an escort to many of these events. You cannot just leave me here. Think of our future!"

"I am thinking of the future; my future! My future with a good wife. If everything works out, that good wife will be Miss Bennet. Enough! I will go to get ready to go out with you tonight, but this will likely be one of the last times. Now, you better go get ready as well."

Caroline was not used to her brother arguing with her. Usually he went along with whatever she asked. She was quiet for now, but thought that she would keep trying to convince him to give up any thought of either going back to Hertfordshire or marrying Miss Bennet.

Late the next day, Bingley received a note from the Earl asking him to see him. Of course, he went to Matlock House as soon as he could. He was admitted right away and was surprised to see that the Countess was with the Earl. The Earl introduced her and she said, "Mr. Bingley, it is good to meet you as Darcy has mentioned you several times. I was surprised that you did not know about Darcy's accident until I heard that you left Netherfield before it happened. As you know, Darcy's sister and I went there yesterday with our personal surgeon. He was very impressed with the care that Darcy received.

"Did you know that Miss Elizabeth Bennet was the first person to find Darcy and that she set his broken leg by herself, with no assistance whatsoever? The surgeons both said that they could not have done a better job themselves and that her quick action may very well have saved his life as they had seen similar cases where the jagged ends of the broken bones actually ruptured blood vessels, with fatal results. She is a remarkable lady. I spent some time with her and cannot but agree. She and her father are very intelligent and interesting conversationalists, but I was not impressed by the rest of their family. The oldest daughter, Miss Jane Bennet is one of the most attractive ladies I have ever met. I understand that you might agree with me about her?" She paused as she saw him blush.

"Miss Darcy and I stayed at Longbourn last night and spent some time with Darcy. I believe that he will receive good care from the Bennets and our surgeon, Mr. Huggins, said that the local surgeon was definitely competent enough to treat Darcy in his recuperation, so that made me less concerned about him. Darcy hopes to be able to come back to town by about Christmas.

"Miss Darcy was so impressed by the Bennet ladies and was so concerned about her brother that she asked if she could stay with them until he could leave. I could see no reason to deny her request and they quickly agreed to host her for as long as needed. I quite liked Mr. Bennet and his acceptance of his situation of having only five daughters and no sons. What he said was that he was already outnumbered by six to one, so seven to one would hardly be noticeable.

"One more thing; we talked about how Darcy could reward Miss Elizabeth. We agreed that singling her out would not be appropriate. We thought that he should invite the whole family to stay at Darcy House for a month so they could enjoy some of the entertainments in town. By March, he should be healed enough that he could accompany them with no hindrance to his mobility. I agreed to obtain invitations for them to some balls and other events while they are here."

Bingley was very excited to hear all this news, but he was happy that Darcy had received good care and appeared to have several competent caregivers with him. He was surprised to hear that Miss Elizabeth had set his broken leg as he had no idea that she had any medical knowledge or experience. "Thank you for telling me all this, My Lady. I was very worried about him, but everything seems to be going as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I plan to return to Hertfordshire as soon as my business here is under control, which should be in just another couple of days. I will check on him regularly myself, but I am sure that Miss Darcy will look after him and will keep you informed of his progress. Now, I must get home as I believe my sisters and I have commitments to go out tonight. Good day to you both."

The next morning, Mrs. Gardiner was astounded when her footman announced "The Countess of Matlock!"

She invited the Countess in, introduced herself, and asked her to sit. "My Lady, this is a very unexpected pleasure. How may I help you?"

"Mrs. Gardiner, we have never met, but I was just in Hertfordshire and spent the night at Longbourn. I understand that you are related to the Bennets?"

"Yes, indeed. My husband is the brother of Mrs. Bennet. I am very close to all of my nieces, especially the two oldest. We see each other quite often." While Mrs. Gardiner was curious to know why a countess would have spent the night at Longbourn, she did not dare ask such an illustrious guest. "We usually spend Christmas with them and will be going there again this year for the season.

"May I offer you some tea?" When the Countess agreed, Mrs. Gardiner sent a maid to the kitchen.

"It is a long and convoluted story why I was there. My nephew, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, was visiting a friend in Hertfordshire who leased an estate there, called Netherfield, and asked for him to help him learn about running an estate. Darcy was thrown from his horse and broke his leg while he was out riding, apparently in a lane that was little used. It happened that Miss Elizabeth Bennet was the first person to find him. She did not want to run for help as he would have been left alone and she knew that it was unlikely that anyone would come along and find them.

"Apparently, she had seen the local surgeon set a man's leg the previous year and watched him carefully. As the surgeon had stressed the importance of setting the leg as soon as possible, she took it upon herself to set it all by herself. I have no idea how she was brave enough to try, but she did it. They were finally found as her father had sent out searchers when she did not come home when she had been expected. The local surgeon came and he said that he could not have done a better job than what she did. They took Darcy to Longbourn as Bingley had gone to town and his sisters were closing up Netherfield." While Mrs. Gardiner was interested in this story, she still had no idea why the Countess was telling her this.

"Darcy sent us an express telling the whole story, so I went with his sister, my son, and our own surgeon to Hertfordshire to check on him. Our surgeon was impressed with the care he had received and how Miss Elizabeth had set the bone, which relieved our concerns a great deal. Both surgeons said that if a broken leg bone is not set promptly, the jagged ends could sever a blood vessel with very serious results. Of course, Darcy cannot be moved for a few weeks to give the bone a chance to heal. The Bennets graciously insisted that he could stay there as long as needed and they even accommodated Miss Darcy and me for the night. Miss Darcy asked if she could stay there until he could be moved and they agreed, so she remains there.

"Did you know any of this?"

"No, indeed, My Lady. We have not heard a word about any of this. I am curious why you are telling me this."

"To show his appreciation of all that Miss Elizabeth did for him, which may likely have saved his life, we decided that he should invite the whole Bennet family to stay at Darcy House in town for the month of March so they can enjoy some of the entertainments that will be available then. I assume that as you are their closest relatives in town, that you will be invited to join them at some of these events. I wanted to meet you as I expect that we will be meeting in March. Miss Darcy will also be taking the girls shopping for new outfits so you may want to go with them then."

"My Lady, that is an incredible story. I know that Elizabeth is extremely intelligent, but I had no idea that she was capable of setting a broken bone. She never ceases to amaze me even though I have known her most of her life. Mr. Darcy's offer seems to be overly generous. Does he really want to do all that?"

"Oh, yes. When the surgeons both said that Miss Elizabeth may very well have saved his life with her prompt action, we knew that his debt can never be repaid."

"If Miss Darcy will be taking the ladies shopping for new outfits, I may be able to help. My husband has a successful import business and he imports many different types of fabrics that he sells to some of the best modistes in town. He would be very pleased to show them some interesting fabrics that have not even made their way to the shops yet. If that might be of interest to you, I will have him set some new imports aside so their dresses will be unique. I am willing to look through his stock to see what might be suitable."

"That would be very good of you. In fact, I was thinking of shopping for some new outfits for myself and my daughter. Would it be possible to arrange for a tour of his stock to see if he has anything that might suit us?"

"Of course, My Lady. I know that he would be very pleased to do this. Just let me know when you are available.

"On another note, I grew up in Derbyshire, in the town of Lambton, which is just five miles from Pemberley. While I have not met Mr. or Miss Darcy, I remember hearing about the family and how well respected they were in the area. I would be pleased to meet them when they come back to town. We may even have acquaintances in common in Lambton."

"That is interesting. I will tell Miss Darcy to invite you to meet her when they return to town. I thank you for receiving me so we could meet. I will definitely be in touch about looking at fabrics. Thank you for the tea and good day to you." While the Countess gave no hint of another reason why she came, she had a more important objective in mind. She and her husband desperately wanted Darcy to marry as they saw that he was often lonely and had been pursued for so long that he never seemed to be comfortable in mixed company. They knew that he was completely dissatisfied with the shallowness of the ladies he met in town, so when she met Miss Elizabeth and realized how intelligent and personable she was, she wanted to investigate her further to decide if this might be a suitable wife for him. So far, while she was certainly not impressed with several members of the Bennet family, Mrs. Gardiner seemed to be very ladylike and genteel, even though her husband was in trade. The Countess was aware that even though the Bennets were not of a very high social class, with Miss Elizabeth's natural ability and the Countess's support, any disapproval of his choice would quickly dissipate.


	11. Chapter 11

At Longbourn, a routine was being established. After breakfast, Georgiana went in to Darcy to see how he was and what she could do to help him. Usually Elizabeth went in with her and they either read to him or just talked. As Darcy had written to his steward at Pemberley, his man of business in London, and his butler at Darcy House, he soon received large packages of correspondence from each of them. When the ladies saw the number of letters he received, they knew that Darcy still did not have the energy to respond to them with his usual dispatch. Georgiana suggested that she could act as his scribe if he could dictate his responses to her. As he kept a copy of every letter he wrote, she would also copy each before they were sent out. As Elizabeth saw the amount of work that Georgiana was undertaking, she also volunteered to help for any letters that were not confidential.

Thus their morning routine changed from leisure to work, with Darcy reading the incoming letters, then dictating to either lady. Very soon he verbalized his thoughts about many of the letters and asked for input as to how he should respond. He soon found that Elizabeth's intelligence, wide range of knowledge, familiarity with estate matters, and common sense, meant that her suggestions proved to be valuable to him in how he responded. His admiration for her rose accordingly and the work that each lady undertook changed subtly, with Elizabeth helping him more with many responses and Georgiana taking on more of the copying and filing.

After lunch, Darcy usually rested, so his assistants joined the other ladies in more leisurely pursuits. The main problem that Elizabeth had with this routine was that she missed the long walks she had often taken in the past. As the weather was quite cold, there were not many days when she actually could have walked, but her inactivity wore on her. In spite of this negative aspect, she had to admit that she was enjoying helping Darcy and the company of his sister. As for Georgiana, she did not realize that her former shy manners were disappearing in the midst of so many lively ladies near her own age and the feelings of usefulness that she felt in her assistance to her brother.

One morning, Darcy and the two ladies were very surprised when Bingley was announced. Darcy greeted him, "Bingley! You came back! I thought that when you closed up Netherfield we would not see you here again. When did you get back? It is good to see you."

"Good morning, ladies, Darcy. When I left here that morning, I had no idea that Caroline would immediately close up the house and follow me to town. I was very surprised when I found her there. Would you believe that she did not say a word about your accident? My valet heard the other staff members talk about it and he told me. I was very upset when I heard this and confronted her. I told her that I would be coming back here even though she tried to dissuade me with arguments and invitations from her friends. As soon as I took care of the business I had there, I left, and here I am.

"Miss Elizabeth, how is your family? How is Miss Bennet?"

"They are all very well. You should come in and say hello to them."

"Darcy, are you working, or will you have time to talk to me after I have greeted the ladies?"

"We have the most important business taken care of, so do come back."

Elizabeth led Bingley to the large sitting room where the other Bennet ladies had gathered. They had heard that Mr. Bingley had come to visit. Elizabeth immediately noticed that Jane was blushing and that Bingley was looking only at her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Bennet, ladies. How are you today?"

Mrs. Bennet responded, "Mr. Bingley! It is so good to see you again. We were worried when you left and we heard that Netherfield was being closed up and that you might not return."

"I am not sure how that rumour started, but I assure you that I had every intention of coming back as soon as I could, and here I am. How are you, Miss Bennet? It is good to see you again."

Jane was greatly embarrassed to be singled out, but secretly she was pleased. "Good morning to you, Mr. Bingley. It is good to see you as well."

Mrs. Bennet was not finished with him. "Mr. Bingley, I hope you will stay for dinner as I had promised that I would invite you to a family dinner before you left."

"Thank you, Mrs. Bennet, I accept gladly. However, first of all I would like to speak to Darcy, so if you will excuse me?" Bingley still had his eyes only on Miss Bennet and he noticed her reaction to him. From her blushes, he was very pleased that he had come back. He went back to Darcy and Georgiana returned to the ladies.

"So, Darcy, tell me about your accident. I have heard only the basics of what happened."

Darcy then told him the details of what happened and how Miss Elizabeth had found him and how she had set his broken leg. Bingley could not believe that she was capable of doing all that she had done. He also felt that Darcy did not tell him all the details, but he could not pry them out of his friend. His regard for Miss Elizabeth rose even higher than it had been and this regard carried over onto her older sister. He was even more pleased that he had come back with the intention of furthering his attentions to her. Although Bingley said that he had to return to Netherfield to clear up some loose ends, he told Darcy that he would return for dinner as Mrs. Bennet had invited him.

Another visitor to Darcy that day was Colonel Forster. He said that Colonel Fitzwilliam had asked that he tell Darcy the results of his investigation into the charges he had laid against Wickham. "I assigned Major Wilkins to lead the investigation and he sent several officers to canvass all of the shops in town to see if Wickham had run up any debts. I also asked them to ask, very carefully, if Wickham had been seen with any young women. They quickly found that he already owed a lot of money to several shopkeepers and had been gambling with his fellow officers and owed money to several of them as well. They also heard that he had been seen talking to the butcher's daughter, who is only 14. I personally talked to the butcher and his wife and they spoke to their daughter. She was very reluctant to talk, but finally said that Wickham had been trying to convince her to allow him to take liberties with her. I could have ended the Wickham problem right then and there by turning him over to the butcher as he was ready to chop him up like any other carcass with no mercy. I have never seen a man so angry. I knew I had to get rid of such a disreputable officer as soon as possible, so I contacted Colonel Fitzwilliam at headquarters and he quickly arranged for his transfer to a front-line regiment whose Colonel he knew. I suspect that Fitzwilliam told him about Wickham and that his life expectancy will be very short. I sent Wickham under guard to headquarters and he will be shipped to Spain very soon.

"I owe Colonel Fitzwilliam a huge debt as Wickham would have destroyed the reputation of me and my whole regiment if he had been left here to wreak havoc on Meryton. As Fitzwilliam's cousin, I feel that I owe you as well, so if there is anything I can ever do for you, just ask." Colonel Forster then left to return to his duties.

Darcy was very pleased when he heard all that Forster had told him as he knew how bad Wickham really was. He thought that he should tell Mr. Bennet the story as his daughters were smitten whenever they saw red uniforms. He rang for his valet and asked him to invite Mr. Bennet to come to him. When he came, Darcy told him the story, omitting only the identification of the butcher as the person whose daughter had been in danger. Mr. Bennet was shocked to hear about Wickham as he had heard his youngest daughters talk about him and how pleasing he was. Mr. Bennet said that he would speak to his daughters about this, but Darcy asked that he send Georgiana to him before he spoke.

When Georgiana came, Darcy told her about Wickham, speaking very carefully as he was not sure what she felt about her near elopement with this scoundrel. He was pleased when she seemed relieved that the young girl in town was now safe and that Wickham would never again be able to corrupt any more innocents.

Mr. Bennet's words received quite a different reception as the Bennet ladies could not believe that such a pleasant officer could be so bad or that they had personally been in any danger from him. Elizabeth was the first to believe everything that he said as her opinion of Mr. Darcy was very high and she expected that his cousin would be just as reliable. They speculated who the 14-year-old girl was who had been the object of his attentions and whether she had been telling the truth about Wickham. Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary joined their father in trying to convince Kitty, Lydia, and even their mother, that the appearance of goodness did not necessarily mean that the person had good intentions. Elizabeth was not sure how successful how their arguments were.

Dinner that night was lively, as everyone was in a good mood. Even Kitty and Lydia had perked up after their disappointment on hearing about Wickham's misdeeds. Mrs. Bennet had seated Bingley next to Jane, so they spoke mainly to each other. Georgiana, as usual, was seated between Lizzy and Kitty. After dinner, Georgiana and Lizzy went in to Darcy and read to him until it was time to retire.

So the routine for the next several weeks was set. Lizzy and Georgie helped Darcy with his work in the mornings. Bingley came after lunch and spent time with Jane while Darcy rested, then he spent time with Darcy speaking of managing estates and other manly topics. Bingley stayed for dinner and spent more time with Jane while Lizzy and Georgie went to Darcy. The only variations of this routine occurred when Mr. Bennet came to Darcy, usually in the late mornings. When he came, the two ladies left them and went to join the other ladies. Mr. Bennet had found that he was enjoying the company and conversation of an intelligent gentleman.

Not long after Bingley had returned, Darcy asked him to do something very important for him. He asked him to go to Meryton with the list of Wickham's debts and pay all of the shopkeepers, but none of his gambling debts. Darcy told Bingley that he could tell the shopkeepers that he felt responsible for Wickham because of his prior connection with Pemberley. He also asked Bingley to pay every debt that the Bennets owed, without telling Mr. Bennet what he was doing. Darcy said that he wanted to do this as he did not want to be a burden on them, but that he expected the debts would not be large as they should only be for the current month.


	12. Chapter 12

As Christmas approached, Darcy insisted that his valet help him get up and move around very carefully. He dared put only the slightest weight on his leg, but he felt very little discomfort. Being able to move around was very welcome after being immobile for so long. Mr. Bennet surprised Darcy when he presented him with a crutch that he had ordered from the carpenter in Meryton. With this and his valet, Darcy soon joined the ladies in the main sitting room after lunch and managed to sit at the dining room table for dinner. He spent less and less time in his sick room, much to everyone's delight.

A few days before Christmas, Mrs. Bennet spoke to him, "Mr. Darcy, you had said that you expected to be able to return to town for Christmas. From how you are getting around, I expect that this will be possible. However, I hate the thought of you and Miss Darcy being there alone. Christmas should be a joyous celebration spent with friends and family. Would you consider delaying your departure until after Christmas so you can spend the holiday with us? We would love to have you. My brother and his wife and children will be here very soon, but we can manage to accommodate everyone.

"We have already invited Mr. Bingley to join us in our festivities as well, and he has accepted. We will be a merry party."

Darcy was surprised to hear this invitation. "Mrs. Bennet, for the past several years, Georgiana and I have spent Christmas at Pemberley quite quietly. Georgie, what would you like to do this year?"

"I would love to stay here. The Gardiners have four young children, and Christmas with them would be wonderful."

"Mrs. Bennet, if you are sure we will not be in the way, then we accept, with thanks. We can go back to London after Boxing Day. I was a bit worried about having to protect my leg in the carriage, so a couple of more days will help."

Later that day, Darcy asked Georgie and Bingley to go to Meryton to buy gifts for everyone, including the Gardiner children. They had to do this very cautiously as they did not want any of the Bennets to accompany them as the gifts were meant to be a surprise. After their shopping trip, they took all of their purchases to Netherfield so they would be a surprise on Christmas Day.

The Gardiners arrived when they were expected. Darcy and Georgie stayed out of the way until the initial joyous greetings were over, and then they were introduced. From the Countess and from their letters, the Gardiners knew that the Darcys were staying at Longbourn, but Mrs. Gardiner soon asked them if they were the Darcys from Pemberley. When she told them that she had grown up in Lambton, they were soon speaking of people they knew in common and other pleasant memories of that town. The Darcys were pleased that the Gardiners were very pleasant and genteel, and good conversationalists. Soon Bennet, Gardiner, and Darcy were speaking of business conditions and opportunities while the ladies were involved with the children. Georgiana had not been around young children much, but she found that their energy and enthusiasm made them fun to be with. She was soon sitting on the floor joining them in their games.

When Bingley came, he was introduced and the Gardiners immediately saw that his attraction to Jane was returned in full measure. Christmas Eve, Bingley somehow managed to speak to Jane privately, and then he asked Mr. Bennet if he could speak to him. No one was surprised at Jane's wide smiles and everyone knew that Bingley had proposed to her and that she had accepted him. She was swarmed with happy people offering their kisses and congratulations.

Darcy had known what Bingley had planned to do, and he had given Bingley his blessings. Bingley's actions made him think carefully about his own intentions. While he knew that the Bennets' social class was much beneath his own and that the behaviour of Mrs. Bennet and her youngest daughters were often disgusting and embarrassing, he had come to understand what wonderful ladies the oldest two were, especially Miss Elizabeth. He had never before met a lady as intelligent and competent as Elizabeth. He was coming to believe that she would make a great Mistress of Pemberley.

Yet, Darcy hesitated to pursue her. His main concern, in addition to her family, was his worry if she would be accepted by his family and by his elite social group. He believed that his Uncle and Aunt, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, probably would come to accept her after they began to know her better. From the reaction of his cousin when he had met Elizabeth, he thought that he would have a valuable ally in him. His friends and peers in town would be a more difficult challenge. If marriage to her meant that he, as well as Georgiana, would be shunned, then that could affect their futures. He would do anything to assure his sister's future, even if it was to the detriment to his own.

However, he then thought about his invitation to the Bennets to host them for the month of March. He realized that he could use their public appearances together to judge if Elizabeth might be accepted. If the treatment that Elizabeth received was completely negative and insulting, he likely would not be able to consider her as his future partner in life. He wondered if the Countess had been impressed enough by Elizabeth to support her foray into the vicious world of high society London.

Darcy's decision to stay at Longbourn for Christmas proved to be the best one that he could have made when he saw how happy Georgiana was as she proved to be a favourite with the Gardiner children. She spent a lot of time with them, playing games with the young girls. Even though Bingley's sisters had tried to convince him to return to London for the holiday, he steadfastly refused as he had also decided to stay at Netherfield. He spent most of his time at Longbourn with Jane. The young Gardiner boys soon found that he was pleased to spend time with them, much to everyone's enjoyment.

On Christmas morning, gifts were passed out and they were all surprised to find that the Darcys had somehow managed to get to the Meryton shops. As Georgiana had spent time getting to know everyone, she had purchased very nice gifts that were well received by all. For Elizabeth, she bought the finest necklace that she could find. The Meryton jeweler was pleased at their visit as Bingley purchased a diamond and pearl ring for Jane as a token of their engagement. While Lizzy's gifts to them were much more modest, they were personal and so were very welcome. For both of them, she embroidered their initials on the finest handkerchiefs she could find. The Gardiners gave each of their nieces very nice fabric that could be made into gowns, which they exclaimed over as they said they would need a number of new gowns for their month in London.

Mary and Collins had set their wedding date in January, so she would not be going to London. This did not disappoint her as she considered most entertainments to be a waste of her time. The Gardiners were well aware of her preferences, so her fabric was of a more subdued tone when compared to those given to her sisters, but slightly more colourful than what she normally wore. Her sisters insisted that this would make a perfect wedding dress that could be used after for visiting Collins's esteemed patroness.

As Bingley did not want to deprive Jane of that month in town with her sisters, they set their wedding date for the middle of April. Bingley said that they would embark on a wedding trip around England before settling down at Netherfield.

Boxing Day was celebrated in the traditional manner and each servant at Longbourn and Netherfield received a box filled with useful items in addition to some cash. Darcy and Georgiana spent that day getting ready to leave for Darcy House. Darcy's valet prepared his carriage by bringing in soft pillows and blankets that would be used to support his leg and to prevent it from being jostled by any bumps in the road. Both the valet and Georgiana's lady's maid were to ride in the carriage with them in case their help was needed. Darcy's coachmen were happy to be leaving as they had found their enforced inactivity boring. Other than exercising the horses every day, they had no nothing to do but wait. The head coachman used this time to assign them to clean every inch of the carriage and all of the tack and supplies. As a result, the carriage and the horses looked very bright and shiny.

Before the Darcys left, he spoke to the Gardiners to invite them to join the Bennets for many of the entertainments he expected they would attend in March. Darcy was very impressed with both Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and simply ignored the fact that they, being in trade, would never have been considered to be suitable company for people of Darcy's level of society. In the back of his mind, he was already considering whether marriage to Elizabeth was feasible. He knew that, if he did unite with her, her relatives would be his relatives as well. He doubted that his Matlock relatives would appreciate associating with the Gardiners in public, but he thought that he might invite them all to a family dinner at Darcy House. Darcy was not aware that his Aunt had already visited Mrs. Gardiner or that they had gone shopping together.

Their leave-taking was deeply felt by everyone, but especially by Georgiana and Elizabeth. By unspoken agreement, Elizabeth and Darcy were given a few moments of privacy. "Elizabeth, I will miss not seeing you every day. You are a wonderful lady and I will count every day until March." Elizabeth blushed on hearing these words, especially as he kissed both her hands for much longer than was considered to be proper. "I will be sure to exercise my leg so we can dance together then." Her smiles made his sentiments worthwhile.

Georgiana knew that she would miss every Bennet and her time here, even when the girls became noisy and squabbled among themselves. Again, she wished that she had grown up in a large family, even though she loved her brother very much. Everyone hugged her, even Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Bennet restricted himself to kissing her hand. When Georgiana hugged Elizabeth, she whispered, "Both Fitzwilliam and I will miss you. I will sing your praises to him until you all come to us to make sure that he never forgets you even for a moment."

Darcy's valet helped him into the carriage and settled his leg among the pillows and blankets. With much waving, they left.


	13. Chapter 13

Darcy and Georgiana's arrival at Darcy House was greeted very warmly by all the staff. Darcy was helped in by his valet. As Darcy insisted that he had to recuperate as soon as possible, he occupied his normal suite of rooms. As this suite was up the stairs, poor John worried that he might fall, so he was right behind his master every step of the way, even though Darcy managed to go up on his own, using his crutch.

That afternoon, Darcy sent word to the Matlocks that they were back and asked Richard to come to see him whenever he could. He also sent word to the surgeon, Mr. Huggins, to come to examine his to make sure there were no complications with his recovery. Once Georgiana was settled, she could not wait to get to her very own piano to practice. Even though she had enjoyed every minute at Longbourn, she appreciated that she no longer had to share one instrument with anyone else. Looking back at her weeks with the Bennets, she was sure that she had made lifelong friends, and decided that she would invite them to Pemberley in the summer, no matter what happened between her brother and Elizabeth. Another decision that she made but could certainly not tell her brother was that when she married, she wanted a large family. She saw the love and companionship that could exist among siblings, even while they might bicker on occasion.

Huggins came the next day to examine Darcy. He was very satisfied with his progress and told Darcy that he had to begin putting some weight on his leg to encourage its healing and to exercise his muscles. Huggins also gave instructions to John to make sure that his master walked every day, preferably with a cane and not a crutch. He also passed his recommendations to Georgiana to make sure that Darcy would be encouraged to follow his orders.

Darcy soon received visits from the Colonel, the Earl, the Countess and their daughter Lady Amanda. Richard continued to tease Darcy about falling off his horse, telling him that he was looking for a Shetland pony for him to ride, but Darcy took the jesting in stride. However, Richard did say that if falling off a horse was a good way to meet attractive ladies, he just might try it. Richard's enthusiastic talk of Miss Elizabeth did upset Darcy as he did not recognize that he was jealous of his cousin's admiration. As he had never felt jealous of any lady before, it took him some time until he realized that he was jealous as he was very attracted to her. They invited the Darcys to dinner at Matlock House, so their socializing would begin with these family members.

Darcy and Georgiana visited the Gardiners at their residence on Gracechurch Street in Cheapside. It was the first time that either had ever been in Cheapside, and they were pleasantly surprised that the Gardiner house was very neat and in an area that was not at all disreputable. They were received very politely and were invited to stay for tea. When the Gardiner children heard who the guests were, they all wanted to go to greet them. Both Darcy and Georgiana were pleased to see them again as they had enjoyed their company at Longbourn. Mrs. Gardiner was very solicitous in her enquiries about how well Darcy's leg was healing. The children also asked Mr. Darcy how his 'sore leg' was feeling and if it still hurt. Before they left, Georgiana asked the Gardiners to come to dinner the next night. Both Darcys were surprised when Mrs. Gardiner mentioned that their Aunt Matlock had visited her and that they had gone shopping for material with her and her daughter Lady Amanda and that they had both been very impressed with the range of imported fabrics that Mr. Gardiner carried. Both the Countess and her daughter had purchased sufficient cloth to make several outfits each and had even insisted on paying full price, even though Mr. Gardiner had tried to give them discounts.

Dinner with the Gardiners went very well as the discussions ranged widely. Even Georgiana participated in the conversations as she was not as shy as she usually was with strangers as she had met their guests at Longbourn. Darcy found that he was impressed by Mr. Gardiner's conversation as he was quite knowledgeable about many current events. Their talk was much broader than it had been when he had been laid up with his broken leg. When the ladies withdrew from the table, the men spoke of investment opportunities, which Darcy was always seeking. He knew that his uncle, the Earl, was in the same position, so he decided that the three of them would have to get together.

Thus Darcy and Georgiana's return to town became more widely known and they began to receive invitations to a number of events. Darcy accepted very few of these, using his leg as an excuse as well as Georgiana's not being officially out. Somehow Caroline Bingley heard that they were in town and she paid a call on Georgiana. Her selective memory did not acknowledge how badly she had spoken to Darcy and she expected that Georgiana had not heard the details of their exchange. She still wanted nothing more than to convince Darcy that she would be the perfect Mistress of Pemberley.

In fact, Georgiana had heard of Miss Bingley's heated exchange with Mr. Bennet from the Bennet ladies. Even Jane found that she could not say anything nice about how she had entered Longbourn and accused her father of kidnapping Mr. Darcy. Being a lady, Georgiana received her politely and with as much grace as she could manage, but not warmly. She did not offer tea and, when Miss Bingley asked about the whereabouts of her brother, Georgiana said only that he was very busy since their return to town. Georgian knew very well that she and Elizabeth had helped him catch up on his business matters and that he simply did not want to see Miss Bingley.

Georgiana was still helping her brother with his correspondence as he realized just how much time he had saved by accepting the assistance offered by the two ladies when he was so incapacitated. Georgiana's role had changed somewhat to performing only the simpler duties, but he still talked to her about many of the more straightforward problems that arose. He missed the very intelligent discussions that he had enjoyed with Miss Elizabeth as he had found that her advice and different way of viewing problems were very helpful.

One morning, when they had just finished dealing with the day's correspondence, he said, "Tell me, Georgie, what did you think of Miss Elizabeth?"

"I like her very much. She is a wonderful person and I wish I had a sister like her. Do you like her, or is this too personal a question?"

"I do like her very much. She is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, but she is a complete lady."

"Do you think you might want to court her?"

"I honestly cannot decide. Longbourn is a very small, insignificant estate and they have very little money and hardly any dowries. Their social class is so far beneath ours that our friends and family may criticize us if we associate with them in any permanent way. Her mother and youngest sisters are an embarrassment. How could we explain them? As much as I like her, I am afraid that any connection with the Bennets could affect your future."

"Fitzwilliam, I want you to be happy. If there are many negative comments about them, they will die down in time, so I am not worried about my future. By the time I come out, no one will remember them. Will you wait to see how they behave during their visit in March before you make any decisions?"

"Yes, I will do that. However, I am afraid that being so close to Elizabeth for a whole month will affect my decision. I may not be able to give her up, no matter what."

Georgie went to him and hugged him. "I will support you in whatever you decide to do."

When the Darcys dined with the Matlocks, Darcy mentioned to his uncle that they should get together with Mr. Gardiner to discuss investment opportunities. Darcy, after consulting with Georgiana, invited the Matlocks to dine with them and the Gardiners. To this dinner, the Matlocks brought Richard and Lady Amanda, and everyone got along very well. This dinner was a great success as many topics were discussed. After the ladies withdrew, the four men talked about investment opportunities, even though Richard was not in a position to be involved in any direct manner. The ladies withdrew to the music room and both Amanda and Georgiana played the piano. They continued after the men returned, much to everyone's delight. The Countess continued to be pleased with the Bennets' relatives, and she was even more satisfied that she could sponsor the oldest Bennet daughters when they came for their month in London.

Thus January and February passed for the Darcys, with his leg getting steadily better. They continued to receive invitations, but Darcy accepted few of them, other than those from the Matlocks and Gardiners. Richard and Lady Amanda were regular visitors as they enjoyed their cousins' company. Bingley stayed with them several times when he had to come to town on business. Bingley's relationship with his sister was still not good as he had heard about Caroline's visit to Longbourn when she accused the Bennets of kidnapping Darcy.

At Longbourn, the Darcys' departure after Christmas made the house seem quieter, even though the siblings continued to squabble as much as before. Georgiana's presence had created quite a diversion and the girls had behaved better when she was there. She was missed, but her descriptions of Darcy House made them all eager for their visit in March. The quietness of the house was particularly noticeable when the Gardiners left with their four children.

Elizabeth was affected the most when all of the guests left. She had become used to helping Darcy with his correspondence in the mornings, even though this had lasted only for a few weeks. She was also impressed with his business acumen, fairness, wisdom, and wide knowledge. She had learned a lot about what was happening at Pemberley, especially with its staff and many tenants. While Darcy had involved her less in the correspondence that involved his other business ventures, she certainly learned that he had investments in many different enterprises.

Her father noticed the decrease in her spirits when the Darcys left. Her time with him in his office had dropped precipitously when they were there, but rose again after they left. "Well, Lizzy, what are you going to do with yourself now that the Darcys have left? After abandoning your poor father for so long, suddenly I am in favour again? What did you do when you spent so much time with them?"

"Now, Father, I did not abandon you at all. It so happened that Darcy needed help with his business correspondence and Georgie and I became his scribes as he did not have the energy to write letters himself. We simply became his secretaries and helped him in whatever ways we could."

"Knowing your curiosity, you must have learned a lot about his affairs. What did you learn?"  
"Now I know that he is involved in many different problems and businesses. He did not let us work on some things, but we did learn a lot about the tenants at Pemberley, how many acres they each farm, what crops will be planted where, and what animals they have. Pemberley has several home farms and many tenant farms. I was surprised at how extensive this holding must be. He did not involve us nearly as much in his other investments and businesses, but I gathered that these are many and varied.

"I learned about him as well. He was always scrupulously fair with his tenants and staff, but will not tolerate any improper behaviour by anyone. He is totally honest in all of his actions. He is a good man."

"What are your feelings toward him? I know that at first you did not like him at all, especially as he insulted you at that first Assembly. Have they warmed after being so close to him for these weeks?"

'Father, I do like him, but I know that we cannot have any possible future. His social class is so far above ours that he will not even consider me. Maybe he will introduce me to a rich friend of his and Mother will be happy. In any case, I just hope we will have a good time with them in town. How are you going to keep Kitty and Lydia under control? They are very disappointed that they will not be able to go to all of the entertainments as they are not considered to be out in town."

"I was wondering that myself. I think I will tell them that if they raise any fuss, I will take them straight back home. Maybe that will keep them under control. I am more worried about your mother embarrassing the Darcys."

"So am I, Father. So am I."

The biggest source of excitement at Longbourn was Mary's wedding to Collins that took place in January. Mrs. Bennet had spent many hours planning this great event. Her detailed planning included decorating the church, setting the menu for the wedding breakfast, and preparing Mary's trousseau. Mary's sisters all helped her dress for the big day, and everyone agreed that she looked her very best and was a lovely bride. Immediately after the wedding breakfast, the new couple left for Hunsford and the house became quiet again.


	14. Chapter 14

Mr. Bennet had been in regular contact with Darcy and they decided that the Darcy carriage would arrive on February 28 and they would leave for London on the 29th as March 1 was a Sunday and they did not want to travel on this day. Additionally, that would give them the full month of March in town. Everyone spent days packing, trying to decide just what they had to take as they had been promised new outfits when they arrived. Of course, they brought the new outfits that they had had made in Meryton from the material they received as Christmas gifts. They did not take any valet or maids as Darcy said that he would provide that help from his own staff. The trip was noisy as the youngest girls and their mother were excited. Both Jane and Elizabeth were also excited, but were not as vocal. Jane was excited as Bingley had said he would also remove to town for that month so he could enjoy the same entertainments as Jane. Elizabeth was excited as she would spend a whole month with Darcy. She hoped that this time together would result in his making a decision about their future. Even though she had told her father that she expected nothing from their relationship, in her heart she hoped for the opposite.

They finally arrived at Darcy House after what seemed to be many hours of travel. They all gushed over the splendour of the house, its location, rooms, furnishings, and numerous staff. They were greeted very warmly by the Darcys, especially Georgiana, who hugged each of the four sisters. Darcy was more restrained, but smiled especially tenderly at Elizabeth. They were shown up to their rooms by their personal attendants and they were even more impressed by how nice and large each room was. Although they did not realize it at first, the room assigned to Elizabeth was the nicest of all.

The four ladies first had to sort out which trunk belonged to whom, but this did not take long. When they refreshed themselves, they were led down to a very nice sitting room where tea and pastries were served. Darcy and Georgiana told them some of their plans and invitations that had already received. They said that they had invited the Gardiners and Matlocks to dinner that evening so the ladies could finalize their plans for going shopping on Monday. The Bennets were all very surprised when they heard that the Countess had asked to go with them with her daughter, Lady Amanda. Darcy and Georgiana were very aware that the two youngest Bennets would be extremely disappointed at not being able to go to a number of the events, so they said that they planned to hold an informal dinner and dance at Darcy House where only family and some close friends would be invited. At this event, the three youngest ladies would be permitted to dance, but only with family members. As they would include Darcy, Gardiner, Richard, Bingley, Mr. Bennet, and the Earl, they would not sit out many dances. They said that the Countess had said that she would do the same later in the month, so this somewhat mollified Kitty and Lydia. They also discussed entertainments where they would also go, so they were more pleased by the end of their discussion.

After tea, the Bennets were taken on a tour of the main rooms of the house. Each room they were shown impressed them with its size and furnishings. Only Mrs. Bennet was not very impressed as they were not overly furnished or gaudy. After their tour, they all went up to their rooms, where they found that their maids had laid out their dresses and had the baths ready for them. They were certainly not used to this level of attention as they shared one maid at Longbourn. After their baths, the maids carefully fixed their hair. Each lady was impressed by the results and they all decided they wanted maids as talented as these.

When the Bennets went down, they found that the Gardiners and the Matlocks were already there. The Bennets knew everyone except for Lady Amanda, so the greetings were enthusiastic. Kitty and Lydia were very pleased that the Colonel was there, as he was in his full-dress uniform, sword and all. The Bennets were amazed that the Countess and her daughter had met the Gardiners and had already gone shopping with them. Dinner was then announced and they were impressed with the quality of the food, the number of courses, and the close attention to their needs by the footmen.

After dinner, the ladies withdrew to the sitting room that had a piano and the gentlemen enjoyed their port and cigars. The ladies chatted and Elizabeth persuaded Georgiana to go the piano, where she played several pieces. When the gentlemen entered, she continued to play until Darcy asked Elizabeth to play and sing. He sat back and enjoyed her performance. As the Bennets were tired from their travels, the guests did not stay late.

The next day, being Sunday, they all went to services at Darcy's usual church and sat at the Darcy pew. The Bennets' appearance caused a bit of a stir among the parishioners as the Darcys had never before brought guests. The Bennets were pleasantly surprised, Jane the most, that they met Bingley at the church. They all returned to Darcy House for lunch, and Darcy suggested that, as the day was very nice, a drive in the park in his open carriages would be pleasant. The ladies all agreed, but Mr. and Mrs. Bennet declined. Bingley quickly agreed to go.

Darcy drove his carriage with Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Lydia, so Bingley had Jane and Kitty. Elizabeth warned Lydia that she had to behave as a lady, or else she would tell their father. As he had already threatened Kitty and Lydia with taking them back to Longbourn if they misbehaved in any way, Lydia managed to control her effusions at the officers, carriages, and people that they saw in the park. Again, as at church, their carriage attracted a lot of attention as Darcy had never been seen before driving in the park, especially with three ladies, two of whom were unknown. Questions and rumours spread quickly.

Dinner that night was quieter as only the Darcys, Bennets, and Bingley were in attendance. The ladies withdrew, led by Georgiana, and the three gentlemen enjoyed their port, cigars, and talk. The ladies went to the sitting room and Georgiana and Elizabeth again went to the piano. When the gentlemen joined them, Bingley immediately went to sit by Jane and Darcy by Elizabeth. The other ladies spoke only about the shopping trip scheduled for the next day. Mr. Bennet desperately wanted to return to the library, but he stayed only out of politeness. Again, no one stayed up very late. When Darcy walked up with Elizabeth, they went to her door and he kissed her hand, even though he really wanted to give her a hug. Just looking at her reminded him of how she had lain on him to keep him warm when he had broken his leg. The memory of her pressing against him almost overcame his better judgment.

Monday morning, the Countess and Lady Amanda came to meet the ladies. As there were seven of them, they rode in two carriages to the Gardiner residence and picked up Mrs. Gardiner to go first to Gardiner's warehouse to look at fabric. Mr. Gardiner expected them and greeted them very politely. "Good morning, Your Ladyship, Lady Amanda, Miss Darcy, and all of you other fine ladies." Gardiner was more casual with his relatives than with titled guests. "My Lady, I must thank you very much for referring your modiste to my warehouse. She was very impressed with what I carry and bought a number of bolts of my best cloth. But not to worry, I did not show her the bolts that I thought you would like. Are you ready to see them now?"

The Countess took charge, "Mr. Gardiner, when my daughter and I took your cloth to our modiste to make dresses for us. She was very impressed with what we brought and said that she had not seen such fine material in a long time. Of course, I told her where we bought it and recommended that she come to see what else you carried. I am pleased to have been of service to a relative of the Bennets as Miss Elizabeth likely saved Darcy's life. We owe your whole family an enormous debt. Perhaps today we can make a small dent in our debt. So, ladies, let us see what we can find."

With these words, the Bennets, including Mrs. Bennet, were joined by Georgiana to look at the fabric that Mr. Gardiner and his assistants began to pull out. The Countess and Lady Amanda were busy going to each lady to comment on the colours and if they thought they were most suitable for her. Darcy had said that he would buy three complete outfits for each Bennet, so they spent quite some time looking at many bolts. Finally, they each were satisfied with their selections, and the Countess told Gardiner to send the bill to Darcy with no discounts.

It took several footmen to load all of the fabric into the carriages and the ladies were assisted in by Mr. Gardiner to go to the Countess's modiste. The modiste had been warned that they were coming and she greeted them warmly, "Welcome, My Lady, Lady Amanda, and Miss Darcy. I assume these are the Bennet ladies you said you would bring. It will be my pleasure to help them find suitable designs for them as they are all very attractive ladies." The Countess introduced each one. The footmen brought in the fabrics and the ladies each claimed those that they had selected. They spent another couple of hours looking at patterns and commenting on each other's choices. Finally, they had each decided on their designs and they had all been measured.

The modiste was very pleased at the amount of work she had just been assigned. "Do not worry, My Lady, I brought in extra help as I know you want these as soon as possible. If you will come back in two days, I will have at least one dress per lady ready for final fittings. Then the next day, these will be finished and the second dresses will be ready for final fittings."

The modiste then turned to Mrs. Gardiner, "Mrs. Gardiner, you may tell your husband that I already sold a lot of the material I bought from him as my customers love it. I am very impressed with his selections. I will be going back there quite soon to buy more."

The Countess replied, "Be sure to send the bill for all of your work to Mr. Darcy. We will see you Wednesday. Ladies, are you ready to go? We will go to Matlock House for lunch. I warned my staff to expect us." They entered the carriages and went there. They were joined by the Earl and the Colonel, which pleased the youngest ladies.

During lunch, Jane, Elizabeth, and Mrs. Gardiner all noticed that the Countess sat Mrs. Bennet next to her and talked mainly to her. They saw that Mrs. Bennet adopted a quiet manner of speech that was similar to how the Countess spoke, which was quite unlike her normal shrill tones. They overheard them speaking of the importance of seeing their daughters married well, a concern they both shared. Elizabeth had noted that the Countess had mainly stayed by her mother's side all day, and wondered if she was deliberately trying to moderate her manners and speech or if she was merely getting to know her better. In either case, she hoped that the end result would be that her mother would prove to be less of an embarrassment to them.


	15. Chapter 15

The next several days passed fairly quietly. The ladies all went to tea with a friend of the Countess and they all once again rode in the park to see and be seen. The ladies picked up their first new gowns and were promised the others over the next two days. As neither Darcy nor Georgiana were used to having much company at Darcy House, they found it strange to share their home with others who seemed to be around constantly wherever they went. Darcy, particularly, found it unusual to find anyone in the library which he formerly had only to himself. However, as he had found that he enjoyed talking to Mr. Bennet, his presence was not unwelcome. What he found most disconcerting was the fact that he seemed to notice Elizabeth wherever he went. He was still uncertain in his mind what their future might hold. While he knew that he was incredibly attracted to her, he still wondered if a permanent connection with her might affect Georgiana's future prospects. He tried to hold his feelings in check until the end of the month as he had decided. What he feared most that he would simply put his arms around her if they found themselves with no one else around. The memory of her lying on him to keep him warm haunted him. She had felt so soft and womanly.

Their first important outing was to a play. As both Darcy and the Matlocks had private boxes, there was room for everyone, including Bingley and the Gardiners. All the ladies went, with the constraint that the youngest three were not allowed out of the box unless accompanied by a more senior companion and were not to flirt with anyone. The three agreed to these strictures as they were well aware of the consequences if they did not obey them. Georgiana was pleased to agree as she had never before even allowed to go to any play.

Bingley found time to talk to Darcy privately, "Darcy, my sisters know that you are in town. They are pressuring me to be included whenever we get together. So far, I have managed to put off their pleas, but they are becoming very strident. Tell me honestly, do you want them to attend any events when we go?"

"Bingley, I can imagine the pressure you are under. However, your sister insulted the Bennets before she left Hertfordshire. She accused them of kidnapping me, which was ridiculous. I believe that it would be better if they do not meet at all as there could be unfortunate words spoken. I hope that you will be able to withstand your sister's importuning and not include her when we go out. Perhaps it might be easier for you if they do not know when or where we are going. We might accidentally meet them at some events, but I hope that we do not."

Bingley was happy to hear Darcy's words as he was also afraid that, if his sister did meet them, harsh words might be spoken. He hoped he would not let slip where they were going as he was invited to go with them to most of their outings.

The play was a comedy and they all enjoyed the humour when they paid attention to the stage. As usual, they drew a lot of attention as all six young ladies, including Amanda, were very attractive. Many friends of both Darcy and the Matlocks came to their boxes in hopes of being introduced, but most of these attempts were rebuffed. Only a couple of special friends managed an introduction, even though the others tried their best. As Lady Amanda was officially out, she was already known to many of their friends.

During one of the intermissions, the Countess invited everyone to dinner the next day. She mentioned that she was inviting several other close friends and that there would be an informal dance after. She said, "Darcy, Mr. Bennet, as this is a very informal occasion, I hope that all the ladies will be allowed to dance, at least with family members and very close friends. I hope that this will reduce their disappointment at not going to any balls. My family has been invited to a ball at Lady Metcalfe's home in three days. I asked her if she might extend invitations to our guests, even though she had said that she cannot accommodate any more. I will find out tomorrow if she will have any extra room."

After the play was over, they slowly made their way out of the theater. They found their exit was very slow as so many people stopped them to talk. Of course, by stopping the group, they mainly wanted introductions to the very handsome unknown ladies, which were again rebuffed in most cases. The Earl and the Countess were very helpful by saying that, as several of the ladies were not yet out, introductions were not appropriate. Some of the Countess's close friends tried to be clever by asking her to bring all of her guests to tea, but the Countess countered these efforts by saying only that they were quite busy but that she would let them know when they would be available. Finally they made their way to their carriages and they managed to depart.

The next morning, the Darcys and Bennets received a number of callers as word of their unknown guests began to spread. As the Countess was not there to help them, Darcy very carefully vetted who was allowed to visit and be introduced. Among the first visitors were Bingley and his sisters. Darcy was not pleased at their appearance, but he did not know how to refuse them as Bingley was such a close friend. Bingley looked sheepish, but Darcy assumed that he simply could not find a reason to prevent his sisters from coming.

Caroline Bingley gushed, "Darcy, how good to see you again! It has been so long. It appears that your leg is fully healed. Where is dear Georgiana? I long to see her." Darcy led her into the sitting room where the Bennet ladies were sitting with Georgiana. "Georgiana, how good to see you again. We have missed you. How are you?"

The Bennet ladies had all risen when the Bingleys entered, and gave them the slightest of curtsies as they all knew what Caroline had said to Mr. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet looked at Georgiana and saw how ill at ease she was. She decided to help her and said, "Good morning, Miss Bingley, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Hurst, Mrs. Hurst. Would you like to have a seat? Would you like some tea?"

Darcy saw what was happening and he said, "Please, be seated." He motioned to a footman to bring tea.

Bingley immediately went to sit by Jane. Although Miss Bingley wanted to sit beside Georgiana, she was already flanked by Elizabeth and Kitty. She sat on another sofa patted the space beside her and smiled at Darcy to invite him to sit by her, but he ignored her and remained standing. Before Caroline could speak, Mr. Bennet entered as he had heard them. He could not resist teasing her. "Miss Bingley! How good to see you again. As you can see, this time the Darcys kidnapped all of us and brought us to town. I hope you do not intend to contact the magistrate again as we are quite comfortable here. I have missed talking to you as I find your conversation delightful. How have you been?"

Caroline just glared at him and turned red, so Elizabeth saw that she had to enter the conversation. "Miss Bingley, how are you? Are you planning to return to Netherfield?"

Caroline did not want to air her disagreement with Charles about Netherfield, so she only said, "I am not sure what we will do. I find that I prefer town to the country. With the season underway, I would hate to miss any of the important social events which we are invited to."

Meanwhile, Bingley had taken Jane's hand and was quietly talking to her, oblivious to everything and everyone else.

Their visit did not last long as the conversation was stilted, even though Caroline tried to involve Georgiana in her discussions. This was difficult as she was not able to sit anywhere near her. Mr. Bennet and Darcy stayed in the room, neither saying much. Finally, Miss Bingley gave up and rose to signal their departure.

After they left, talk resumed and was mainly about dinner at Matlock House. They had other visitors, but none stayed long. Finally, the ladies went up to dress for this important dinner. The Bennet ladies each dressed in one of their new dresses and were assisted by the maids that Darcy had provided them from among his staff.

Just before they had planned to leave, Bingley arrived in his carriage, as the invitation had included him. "I am sorry about our visit today. I could not put Caroline off any longer as she was insistent that she wanted to see Miss Darcy. I tried to discourage her, but she would not listen. Miss Bennet, I gave her a choice once we are married. I told her that she had to choose to live with the Hursts, or with our relatives up north, or I would set her up in her own establishment in town, using her dowry money. I told her that she would not be living with us; that is out of the question."

Everyone was surprised that he had finally come to a decision about his sister. Jane was greatly relieved as she had worried that Caroline would want to live with them. Even though Jane never found any fault with anyone, she knew that such an arrangement would not be good for any of them. The Bennets all congratulated him on his decision as they had wondered what he would do with his sister. To say that they were relieved at his decision would be an understatement.

Dinner with the Matlocks was quite a formal affair. The Countess had said she was inviting other guests, but she had not said that the guests included the Montgomerys with their two sons. The three youngest ladies tried not to show their delight on their introduction as both sons were handsome and personable. They each hoped that the restrictions on their dancing partners would be relaxed enough to include these gentlemen. The conversations at dinner flowed easily. The Countess had seated Mrs. Bennet next to her, which served to keep this usually excitable lady reasonably calm. Mrs. Bennet kept eying the Montgomery sons, wondering if her hopes that being with Darcy would result in her daughters meeting eligible gentlemen might be happening. She already saw Mary wed to Mr. Collins; Jane was engaged to Mr. Bingley; and she had hopes that Darcy would overcome his concerns to make an offer for Elizabeth. That left just Kitty and Lydia to be settled. She was satisfied that both of them were sitting by one of the Montgomery sons and were talking to them.

After dinner, the ladies went to the largest sitting room where the furniture had been pushed back and the rugs rolled up to make room for dancing. When the gentlemen joined them, all thoughts turned to dancing. The Countess volunteered to play first to allow the young people to find partners. Darcy immediately asked Elizabeth; Bingley asked Jane, the Colonel asked Georgiana, the Montgomery sons asked Kitty and Lydia, and Mr. Gardiner gallantly asked Lady Amanda. The Earl asked Mrs. Gardiner, leaving the Montgomery parents to dance together. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet decided they preferred to sit and watch everyone else.

After the Countess had played two pieces, Mrs. Gardiner volunteered to take her place, The dancers all changed partners for this next set. Then Mrs. Montgomery took over the piano and the dancers changed partners again. After this set, the Countess suggested that it was time to break for tea and she asked Georgiana to play for them. With some urging from Elizabeth, she consented and showed just how skilled she was. Then Darcy asked Elizabeth to play and sing which she did. Everyone saw that she was not as skilled as Georgiana, but her heartfelt performance met with great approval by everyone. The song she sang was about love, and everyone saw that her glances were only to Darcy. He sat rapt, with his eyes only on her. The others all saw what was happening and speculated what his plans for her might be.

Everyone agreed that the evening was a great success. Before he left, the Countess told Darcy that she had heard from Lady Metcalfe and that she reluctantly extended only four additional invitations to her ball. The Countess said that she would leave it up to Darcy to decide just who would receive the invitations. This was not a problem for Darcy as he quickly decided that he and Bingley would escort Jane and Elizabeth. He worried that the other Bennets might feel slighted, but he hoped that they would understand.

When the Gardiners heard about the ball and how few invitations were received, they decided to invite the others to their house for dinner that day. Darcy thought that this was a very good idea, as otherwise the Bennets and Georgiana would be left alone at Darcy House. All the other ladies helped Jane and Elizabeth dress for the ball, although their assistance was not really needed as their maids were quite competent. They chose the nicest of their new dresses and finally were ready to everyone's satisfaction. Georgiana had asked Darcy to lend them some of their mother's jewelry for tonight, so they both sported magnificent necklaces and bracelets that were studded with precious jewels.

All the ladies went down the stairs, with Jane and Elizabeth in the forefront. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs were Darcy, Bingley, and Mr. Bennet, who were all stunned at the beauties that descended. At first, they could not say a word until Mr. Bennet broke the silence. "My dears, I have never seen such beauty since I was courting your mother. You make me very proud to call you my daughters." When they reached him, he kissed each of them on their foreheads, then passed Jane to Bingley and Elizabeth to Darcy. "Gentlemen, I am afraid that I have to tell you that you will be completely overlooked tonight as you will have the belles of the ball on your arms. No one will even notice you. You had better secure your dances now or their cards will be filled before you have a chance."

Elizabeth looked shyly up to Darcy, whose eyes were glowing with admiration. She wondered if his obvious approval included even the slightest bit of love. While she had known that the chances of his marrying her were slim because of the differences in their social positions, she knew that her initial dislike of him had long changed into a deeper and warmer feeling. Darcy was astounded at how beautiful she looked. He had long considered her one of the handsomest women of his acquaintance, but tonight she was simply spectacular. "Miss Elizabeth, may I say that you look absolutely beautiful? Your father is right. May I have the first dance with you? Also the supper dance? I know that two is normally the maximum permitted, but I would also like to secure the last dance with you as well."

"With pleasure, Mr. Darcy, although I am not sure how much you are exaggerating my appearance. I am sure that there will be many more handsome ladies at the ball tonight."

"I am not exaggerating your beauty. I believe you two will be the belles of the ball without question. But now we had better be going or we might be late."

As the Bennets were using Darcy's carriage to go to the Gardiners, the four of them entered Bingley's carriage to go to join the Matlocks to proceed to the ball.


	16. Chapter 16

When they entered the Metcalfe residence, the Metcalfes greeted them and were introduced to Bingley and the Bennet ladies. Lord Metcalfe was already acquainted with Darcy and was very impressed by the beauty of the ladies they had brought, especially with Jane's. He knew she would easily be the most sought-after lady tonight, but her sister, while not being as classically beautiful as Miss Bennet, would also not lack for partners. "Ladies, I am surprised we have never met before. Where are you from?"

Jane, as the elder, responded, "Our father's estate, Longbourn, is in Hertfordshire. As he is not fond of town, we do not come here very often. We were lucky that Mr. Darcy invited the whole family to spend some time with him. We are very pleased to have received invitations to your ball, My Lord, My Lady."

Lord Metcalfe was not too old to appreciate Jane's beauty. "I am pleased that the Earl and Countess extended our invitations to you. Your beauty will make our ball the talk of the town. May I have the honour of a dance with you before your card is filled?"

His words were proved to be very accurate as they were besieged with requests for introductions as soon as they entered the ballroom. The Colonel immediately secured dances with both of them, so Darcy and Bingley had their names entered on Lady Amanda's dance card. Very soon, all three ladies' cards were filled and they had to refuse all further requests. When they lined up for the first dance, Darcy and Bingley both noticed the appreciative glances, and some outright stares, their partners were receiving. Both gentlemen could not resist but to stand taller and look smug. They just smiled. They unconsciously held their partners' hands tighter and more possessively.

Both the Earl and Countess were pleased at the reception their guests were receiving and they did not regret their decision to acquire the extra invitations. They both had many friends at the ball who kept asking about their guests, who were unknown to all the people there. Between dance sets, they were kept busy introducing the Bennet ladies to their friends. As many people were impressed by their obvious beauty and exceptional manners, they received invitations to different events, including teas, dinners, and musical evenings, but they had to defer accepting any of them by explaining that they were unsure whether their family had plans for that specific evening. A number of the invitations were immediately extended to their whole family under the assumption that their family would be as acceptable as these two sisters. Jane had to mention that, as their two youngest sisters were not officially out, they had planned to attend only the most informal events as a family.

During one set, when Darcy was not dancing, he came to the Countess and Richard to keep them company as the Earl was off talking to some of his friends and the ladies were dancing. Richard decided to tease Darcy. "Darcy, I have to ask you a very personal question about your intentions to Miss Elizabeth. If you have no serious plans for her, would you mind if I begin to court her? She is one of the most remarkable ladies I have ever met and I have been thinking of giving up my commission to settle down."

These words hit Darcy very hard as he and his cousin had been in many different types of competition for most of their lives. He was still undecided about whether he had any future with Elizabeth because of their different social classes. "Richard, you know that they have almost no dowries, so you could not afford to marry her. Are you saying that just to annoy me?"

"Darcy, it is obvious to anyone who sees you two the way you look at each other. If you do not do anything about it, I will bet you a good saddle horse that she will receive at least two offers before March is out. Look at her! Look at her smile! She is beautiful and intelligent, and a wonderful person. I could name five men here who would gladly trade places with you. You had better make a decision soon or it may be too late."

"I will not accept that bet as I know that I would lose. I have thought about her! Do you really think that I do not appreciate her great qualities? I know she will make a wonderful life partner, but what about her lack of status and connections? Will I be scorned for choosing her? How will that affect Georgiana's future?"

The Countess spoke up, "Darcy, I have to tell you how impressed I am with both Miss Bennets. You can see from their reception here tonight that there will not be any trouble in having them accepted by everyone, especially as I will gladly sponsor Miss Elizabeth for you. If you have serious plans for her, which I sincerely hope that you do, you can count on my support. We want to see you settled and both your uncle and I are sure she is the perfect lady for you. I know that while she is staying at your home, it would not be appropriate for you to formalize your relationship just yet, but I strongly suggest that you talk to her before these other potential suitors do."

With these words, Darcy knew that he had to make a decision, and soon. Just watching how Elizabeth's partners responded to her made him jealous, and nervous. He decided that he had to speak to her as soon as possible, although he was not sure just what he would say. He had to make his intentions known, but he could not formalize anything while she was staying in his house.

The rest of the ball went as well as its beginning, with Darcy dancing a few sets when he was not watching Elizabeth with another partner. People noticed that he danced the important final dance with her, so many suspected that his interest in her was very serious. At the end of the ball, when they were thanking their hosts, Lady Metcalfe invited all the Bennet ladies to come to tea, which Jane tentatively accepted on behalf of her mother and sisters.

When they arrived back at Darcy House, the rest of the family was there waiting for them to hear about the ball. Jane and Elizabeth described the beautiful dresses and elegance of the people there. They admitted that they did not sit out even one dance and that their dance cards were filled shortly after they arrived. They spoke of how nice everyone was to them and how many introductions and invitations they had received. Elizabeth noticed that Darcy did not appear to be very happy when she described her many dance partners.

In turn, they were told of the nice dinner they had at the Gardiners and some of the antics of the Gardiner children. Both Jane and Elizabeth could see that Kitty and Lydia were not pleased at not being allowed to go to the ball, but they hoped that there would be plenty of other events that they could attend that might appease them. Jane mentioned that Lady Metcalfe had invited the ladies to tea and that she had tentatively accepted. This was of great interest until they were told that they did not appear to have any eligible sons at home.

When they all went up, Darcy again walked Elizabeth to her door. He waited until everyone else had gone into their rooms, then said, "Elizabeth, just seeing how popular you were tonight made me realize that there a good chance that you will be attracting suitors before the month is out. I hope you understand that it would not be appropriate for you to stay here if our relationship were made more formal. I can only ask that you not accept any other suitor before we have a chance to talk about our future. At this point I can only say that I know how wonderful you are and that I admire you very much. Will you wait for me?"

"Mr. Darcy, thank you for telling me this. I understand your position and will promise you that I will not accept anyone else's suit before I hear from you. I do like you very much." With that, she reached up and kissed him on his cheek, then quickly went into her room and closed the door. He could not see her, but they both had wide smiles of contentment as they both knew what they had each implied. They both had a good sleep that night with very pleasant dreams.

The days passed quickly as almost every day was filled with something, often with the Matlocks, but increasingly without them as their circle of friends widened. The ladies went to tea several times a week and invited some of their new friends over for tea. Of course, Georgiana officiated with the assistance and support of the Bennet ladies. They all went out several times a week to friends' houses for informal dinners, musical evenings, and card games. Together, they went to the opera, concerts, and other presentations and recitals. Even though Darcy and Mr. Bennet were very careful whose requests for introductions were accepted, the youngest ladies did meet a number of interesting ladies and especially, young gentlemen. Jane and Elizabeth went to several more balls, where the men were universally pleased to see them, but some of the ladies less so as they saw them as possible competition until they learned of their attachments to Bingley and Darcy.

One of the most memorable balls was held at Matlock House as the youngest ladies were invited to come, but not to dance. They were relegated to an upstairs balcony that overlooked the ballroom so they could see all of the beautiful gowns and decorations. Darcy saw them staring wistfully at the dancers, so he gathered Bingley and the Colonel and went up to them. The three gentlemen surprised the ladies as Darcy asked Kitty to dance, then Richard asked Lydia, and Bingley asked Georgiana. They had their own private dance up there on the balcony, which was just large enough to accommodate them. For the second dance of the set, they switched partners with Darcy dancing with Lydia, Richard with Georgiana, and Bingley with Kitty. Their impromptu dancing was seen by a number of guests on the ballroom floor beneath the balcony, and their dance ended with applause from below. A number of guests asked who these ladies were and were told who they were and that as they were not officially out, Darcy had surprised them with their private dance. Of course, Darcy's consideration for the entertainment of the three young ladies resulted in their having pleasant dreams of future dances with other handsome partners. Lydia's dreamy partner just happened to have a brilliant red coat just like the Colonel's. Kitty and Georgiana's dreams included young gentlemen who were tall, dark, and handsome, and very good dancers.


	17. Chapter 17

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Here is the last chapter of this story._

Their month in London was rapidly nearing its end and they had to begin to think of returning to Longbourn. All the Bennets were sad to think of this, except for Mr. Bennet. He had forced himself to attend all the events that required his attendance, even though he would much rather have stayed immersed in Darcy's library. One of their last events was another night at the opera, which they had all attended. Again, even though many of the people there knew who the Darcys' guests were, their box was still besieged with people trying to secure introductions to these attractive ladies who were not well known in town.

When they arrived back at Darcy House, they soon went up as it was late. Even though it was late, Lizzy could not sleep with her mixed emotions about Darcy. She knew she was developing very deep feelings for him, but she could not decide just how deep his feelings were for her. Sometimes he was tender and considerate; other times he seemed to revert to his former remote and haughty self, especially when they were out in public. They had only two more days here, and she had hoped that they might come to some decision about their future as he had suggested, but nothing had happened yet. She thought that if she read, that might take her mind off him. She donned a robe and went down to the library. Just as she came to the library door, it opened and Darcy stepped out, nearly bumping into her. She saw that he had removed his coat and waistcoat and was only in his shirtsleeves. She just stood there, right in front of him. He was obviously very startled and had not expected to see her there.

"Elizabeth!" was all he said, but then he raised his hand and touched her cheek. She closed her eyes with his touch and began to breathe faster, but she was not able to say anything. He moved his fingers and lifted her chin. She automatically lifted her head up to face him and opened her eyes to see him staring intently at her. The next thing she felt was his lips on hers, very lightly. She could not help herself, but put her arms around his neck and pulled him down tighter to her. She felt his arms go around her and he pulled her close to him. Their kiss lengthened and became more passionate. When he pulled back slightly, she moaned and pulled him down to her again. When he managed to pull away again, she let him, and put her head against his chest, but did not let go of his neck. They both remembered the last time she was pressed against him; it was when she had set his broken leg and she hugged him to keep him warm. This time, he could easily feel her breasts against his chest as they both wore fewer layers than before. He knew that he wanted more, much more.

"Fitzwilliam, you must think me wanton, but I have wanted you to do that for so long. Will you kiss me again?" He did not need further encouragement but kissed her more urgently. Without thinking, he put one arm behind her knees and picked her up in his arms without breaking their kiss. He turned to the staircase, ready to take her up to his room.

"Ahem!" A very loud clearing of a throat made them pull apart. It was her father, standing in the hall, obviously watching them. "Mr. Darcy, might I ask your intentions toward my daughter? Are you betrothed?"

Both Darcy and Lizzy were red with embarrassment, but he did not set her down. "No, sir. I assure you that this was the very first time I have ever taken such liberties with your daughter. I can only say that my intentions are strictly honourable."

"Darcy, from what I see, even though you are a gentleman, I am not sure that your statement is completely accurate. Do you intend to ask for her hand?

"Yes, sir."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Do it."

"Right here? Right now? With you watching?"

"Why not? That will assure me that your intentions are indeed honourable. I believe that you owe me that much."

Darcy had not intended to ask for her hand yet, but he knew that now he had no choice but to do it right now. He was not pleased to have her father witness this, but he stood her upright, went down on one knee in front of her, and took her hand. "Elizabeth, I love you. You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met. I cannot live without you and want nothing more than to have you by my side forever. Will you marry me?" He looked up at her with pleading eyes.

"Yes, yes! A thousand times, yes! Fitzwilliam, I love you and also cannot imagine my life without you. Father, will you give us your consent and blessing?"

"Yes, I will. I truly believe that you two will be very happy. Darcy, that was a very nice little speech. How could any woman refuse such a heart-warming approach? I believe I will expect you in the morning to discuss the details? Now, Lizzy, I am certainly not going to leave you two alone after what I saw. Come, I will escort you to your room. I will turn my back on you two for one-half of a minute, and then we are going up." He did as he said and turned around.

Darcy needed no further encouragement but immediately pulled Lizzy into another loving embrace. This time their kisses were not so frantic, but were even more enjoyable. Only with reluctance did they pull apart when her father cleared his throat again to warn them that he was about to turn around. As her father led her up the stairs, he said, "Lizzy, I know you will be very happy. I hate to lose you, but I have known for months this was going to happen. Now my biggest concerns are not to let you two be alone again until you are safely married, and to decide when to tell your mother." He thought that if he woke her now to tell her, she might be quite obliging to him as she would be so happy. Just watching such loving kisses made him remember his first attraction to her mother and their own loving enthusiasm. 'Yes,' he decided, 'I believe I will wake her and see what happens.'

"Father, are you suggesting that you do not trust us to be alone?"

"From what I saw, how can I? If I had not come along when I did, where do you think he would have taken you? Tell me now; could you have refused him anything? Anything at all?"

She did not answer this question and realized that her father was right. From what she had felt when she was in his arms, she could not have said no to anything he wanted. As they came to the door of Lizzy's room, he kissed her on the forehead and could not resist saying, "Lizzy, I am glad that I came along when I did or I would have had to rush you two to the altar tomorrow."

"Papa! How can you say that?"

"Lizzy, my dear, you are my daughter after my own heart, Now, tell me true, you did not answer the first time I asked this question—could you have refused him anything then?" She did not answer again, but only blushed. "Exactly. Now good-night. I am sure you will have very nice dreams tonight." He saw her in and turned to see Mr. Darcy standing at the top of the stairs, watching them. Mr. Bennet stood in front of Elizabeth's door with his arms crossed. "Darcy, do I have your word as a gentleman that you will not do anything inappropriate with my daughter until you are safely wed? Well?" When Darcy agreed to this demand, most reluctantly, he waited until Darcy turned and went to his own room, with disappointment obvious in his whole body. Mr. Bennet then went off to his wife's room with a smile on his face, thinking, 'He reminds me so much of myself when I was his age. Too bad Fanny's father had not been there to stop us.'

The next morning at breakfast, he announced that he had given his approval and blessing to Darcy's request for Lizzy's hand. This resulted in her sisters and Georgiana rushing to her to offer their congratulations. While Mrs. Bennet had several reasons to smile, she worried how she would be able to plan a second wedding in a short time, as her husband had warned her to expect an early date for it as he expected that they might not be able to wait very long.

All in all, it was a very happy group that rode Darcy's carriage back to Longbourn as he had promised to invite them all up to Pemberley in the summer and back to Darcy House for the next season. He also said that they would talk about the timing of when the youngest ladies would officially come out and that he would help them in any way that he could when they did.

So they all had happy dreams of the future. Mr. Bennet dreamt of the prospect of being in the Pemberley library; Mrs. Bennet dreamt of planning two weddings; Jane and Elizabeth dreamt of being in their husbands' arms; and Kitty and Lydia dreamt of dancing with handsome red-coated partners.

THE END

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I hope you enjoyed my story, the fifth that I have published on this site. I have received many Reviews and welcome them all as I am trying to improve my writing of fiction. If you like my writing, I will soon be publishing a sixth story, titled "Charlotte and the Colonel." _Roni_

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